Scar Tissue
by Ande883
Summary: Beginning immediately after the arrest of Dawn Bellwether, this story chronicles the journey that Nick and Judy make in the time that follows. From Judy's rehabilitation, her apartment search, and Nick's slowly revealing past, the two find themselves drifting closer and closer to the point that they both need to ponder one question: What's wrong with a little scar tissue?
1. Pilot

_Scar Tissue - Chapter 1 - Pilot_

 _Edited by OnceNeverTwiceAlways_

* * *

 _Immediately Following the Arrest of Mayor Dawn Bellwether_

Evening fast approached the city of Zootopia. With the setting of the sun came a close on the darkest moments in the city's history. A brutal megalomaniac sat in the back of a police car, bound by pawcuffs and watched by many. Her eyes looked away from it all. Whether it was due to shame, anger, or a combination of both, she had no interest in seeing any of these mammals. For the time being, she gave only the rugged cloth of the cruiser's back seat her company.

From all around, the sound of the gathered crowd roared constantly like rolling thunder. Though moments before only a few voices had cut through the still of the museum, currently it was almost as loud as a football stadium. Mammals from all walks of life stood in groups on both sides of the yellow police tape, chatting about the events of the evening. ZPD officers looked into the situation further. News reporters butted their heads into the crowds, desperate for anything to get a coherent story. Paramedics tended to two small mammals.

Judy waited patiently as her numbed leg was stitched up by expert paws. The gash on her leg was worse than she had thought originally, requiring approximately twelve stitches and a strong pain medication for her to feel comfortable. She looked away as the medic did her handiwork. It wasn't the sight of blood that made Judy's stomach turn. She could still feel her leg slightly, but she didn't want to ask for more anesthesia.

Not far from where she was sitting, Nick was receiving a look over from another medic. Judy heard a small debacle between him and the coyote who had been checking his ribs not a few minutes before. Nick absolutely _did not_ think he needed to receive any medical attention, but Johnny—that was the name she'd heard—had said if there was nothing wrong, then it would take only a couple of minutes. That had been fifteen minutes ago.

Judy watched as a shirtless Nick cringed when Johnny softly prodded a spot on his torso. She internally chuckled and tried not to cringe herself as the last stitch was finished. Judy finally built up the courage to look at her leg, neatly stitched up, though sporting much less fur than before. The red panda who had put in the stitches took a clean, white bandage and gently wrapped it around the wound. Judy smiled as she was given clearance to sit normally.

"Dr. Garvey will be with you in just a moment," the paramedic told her with such a soothing voice that Judy wondered if it was her own mother who had just fixed her up. The paramedic—Judy felt bad she hadn't caught the red panda's name as she'd been too preoccupied by the pain to ask—walked off and left her alone. She decided to sit and pass the time by watching Nick who was looking crestfallen from being told he had a couple of bruised ribs. Rabbit hearing was a wonder to behold.

 _Poor Nick…_ Judy thought with the tiniest of smiles flashing in his direction.

As Johnny went into the back of the ambulance to grab something, Nick looked up from his lap. His eyes caught hers. Instantly, his face lit up and his ears flicked back to their most upright and pleased position as he gave her a little wave. She waved back just in time for a male hyena—the presumed Dr. Garvey—to sit down and block her view of Nick perfectly.

"And you must be the Judy Hopps I have heard so much about," he sang, flashing her a toothy grin.

Dr. Garvey was not exactly what Judy had expected when she thought of a doctor. His head fur was slightly disheveled, and, underneath his white coat, she could see a set of very normal clothes—a pair of sweatpants and an old t-shirt depicting what looked to be the 80's band, Guns and Rodents.

"All good things, I hope," Judy said in response.

"Of course, dear. I can't imagine anything bad being said about you. But, down to business. I am going to prescribe you Oxencontin, just a brand of oxycodone. We'll have you take one 5mg pill a day with..."

Judy had completely lost interest in what he was telling her. It was probably important, but there was something even more important that she needed to do.

"And so your meds will be available for pick up tomorrow at your pharmacy, which, according to your records is the one on 57th and Barker Street?"

"That's right," she nodded.

"Ok, then. You're good to go, but—" he said, reaching to his side and presenting a parting gift for her—"I'm sure you'll be wanting these."

Judy stared at a pair of silver crutches that were sized perfectly for her and immediately began to dread the thought of trying to get around the next couple of days. She held the crutches in her paws and looked at them, then back up at Dr. Garvey.

"I'll see you in three days. I'm in Medical Building Two at Zootopia General. Hopefully, you won't be needing those by then." Dr. Garvey stood up and Judy offered him one final "thank you", before she was once again left by herself.

After twiddling her thumbs for a while, she soon had Nick on her mind again and decided to see how things were going. And there he was, just getting his shirt back on. Leaving the top one undone, Nick did up the final button, before he slipped his tie over his head and tightened it to where he wanted it. Loose, yet dashing. Giving the space a once over, he soon caught Judy's stare, and, once again, his smile returned. She waved him over, and he didn't hesitate to sit down next to her.

"Hey," she greeted.

"Hey, you," he quickly fired back.

"Your ribs?"

"Three bruised ones."

Judy winced.

"But enough about me. You sure you're going to be fine? That leg looks like it hurts a lot."

"I'll be fine, Nick. Since when did you worry so much about me?" she chuckled while giving him a slight shove on the shoulder.

Nick flashed a toothy smile as he raised his paw to playfully shove her, but instead lowered it back to where it was. "You didn't hear this from me, but I've been worried about you since you left. I'm sorry for what I did, Judy. I left you all alone after the press conference and…I—I just feel terrible about it. I shouldn't have done that. It was foolish, and I'm _really_ sorry about that."

"Hey, don't beat yourself up. You're forgiven. No hard feelings, Nick. I did that to myself. You're not to blame at all," she said, her voice quiet and almost strained.

"But still—"

"No!" she interrupted before he could continue. "Don't pin this on yourself! I was the dumb bunny. You didn't do anything wrong—"

"Hopps."

Both mammals froze suddenly as a shadow fell over them. Simultaneously, their heads turned to meet the steeled gaze of Chief Bogo. His arms lay at his side, though they came into a cross as he knelt down to be closer to the mammals who were miniscule by comparison. Judy suddenly realized who had joined them, and, due to her training, almost immediately tried to stand. The action caused both Nick and Bogo some amount of fright as she nearly fell over, but, fortunately, she had Nick there to steady her.

"Stay seated, Hopps. I don't want you hurting your leg even more."

Judy understood and slowly lowered herself back down with Nick's assistance.

"It seems that you haven't remembered the fact that you're no longer an officer?" he continued.

"That never really left, sir. Once an officer, always an officer," she stated proudly.

Bogo gave a snort as his lips displayed a half a smile. "I'm glad you think so."

"Why is that, sir?"

"Did you think you'd do this and go back to being a stereotype, Hopps? No one else would have considered our very own mayor to be behind these attacks. Your drive to make the world a better place is stronger than ever. Your skills as an investigator are top notch," the chief said as he uncrossed his arms. "If I remember correctly, your badge is sitting in one of the drawers in my desk. It's yours if you'll have it."

Judy blinked before turning her gaze to Nick, who looked almost as shocked as she felt. After a moment of silent contemplation, she saw Nick smile and nod towards Bogo. Judy turned nervously, twiddling her thumbs as she bit the bullet.

"Is it still shiny as ever?" Nick blurted before she could give Bogo her response. Judy shot Nick a dirty look as she elbowed him in the side.

Bogo eyed Nick for a second before snorting in an almost humorous manner. "Might be a bit dusty. It'll shine up real nice pinned to your chest, Hopps."

"I'd be happy to have it back, sir. But—" she held up a finger. "I'm not one to take all of the credit." She waved a paw at Nick. "He deserves more of it than I do. I'll be glad to serve the city once again, but there is one condition."

Judy reached into her back pocket and pulled out a wrinkled piece of yellow paper. She unfolded it and gave it to Nick. She noticed he hesitated to take it, and, as he did, his ears flattened against the back of his head. He looked at the completed application form, then up at Judy with wide, green eyes.

"He would be a great addition to the police force, sir," she continued. "I know he has what it takes. I want to see to it that he gets into the Academy."

Judy's ears fell behind her when Bogo's frown reappeared. He looked over at Nick who gave a little wave and smiled nervously.

The chief turned to Judy once more. "The fox?" he spat.

"Sir, he has a name."

"Right…. What is your name, fox?" Bogo asked brusquely.

Nick suddenly straightened up and steeled his features. "Nick Wilde, sir," he replied.

Bogo simply snorted.

"Very well, Mr. Wilde. Turn in a new application—one that it isn't so wrinkled—and I will see what I can do for you. The new class at the Academy begins in two months, so you'd better prepare yourself. Am I clear?"

"Yes, sir!" Nick nearly shouted.

"Splendid," Bogo said softly as he turned to face Judy once more. "Hopps, I will see you in uniform as soon as you are able to. He better not let me down, or it's on you," he finished with a finger pointed directly at her.

Judy offered him one last "thank you, sir" before the chief walked off and left them alone.

"I think he likes me," Nick said after a brief moment of silence.

Judy chuckled. "Sure. Whatever you say, Slick."

"You didn't have to do that."

"What?"

" _That_! Put in a good word for me! Why did you do it?"

"Because you deserve better than a life on the streets. I know you can do it, Nick," she said as she leaned closer to Nick and moved her paw to rest on his forearm. "You have the same desire to make the world a better place that I have. I can see it."

"Hey, Carrots, guess what?" Nick asked as he patted her paw a couple of times before drifting away enough to break the connection.

"What?" she replied with a silly smile.

"You're the best."

"I know," she giggled.

He flinched, making Judy stop and wonder if something was wrong. She looked at him and saw a brief glint of fear in his eyes, but it left as quickly as it had come. It was subtle, but she'd noticed it.

"Nick, is everything alright? You jumped a little bit."

"I, uh…. I just realized that you probably don't have a place to stay, do you?" he said quickly while gathering their small number of things.

"Oooh…. You're right!" Judy cringed. "I might just have to get a hotel for a while so I can look for an apartment…"

"With that leg? I don't think so!" Nick turned on his heel and looked at her with stern eyes. "You can barely walk by yourself. I'll take you to my place. I've got plenty of room to take you in for a while!"

"Nick, I don't want to be a burden on you!"

"I am inviting you, Carrots! You are going to be searching for a while, and there is no way I am letting you live by yourself until you can walk on your own!"

"Fine! You win, Slick!" she shouted as she threw her paws in the air. "I'll stay with you until I find a new place!"

"Good." Nick stated, clapping his paws together. "My place isn't too far. Why don't we get out of here? They don't need us anymore, do they?"

"No, we are good to go."

Nick stood up first and helped her into a standing position. She grabbed her crutches and took her first steps with them, which nearly ended with her in a pile on the floor. Her foot slipped from underneath her, causing her to lurch forward.

Nick caught her with ease and helped her upright once again. "I know this will be tough, but you need to slow down a bit. Wait until you get used to them, first."

"Har har. I know I'm impatient." Judy set herself up again. She put all of her focus on where she was planting her good leg while keeping the crutches pressed against her armpits and took her first successful step.

Nick hovered close to her as they exited the museum. "You know, this is probably twice as fast as Flash. I'd say you're doing just fine!"

"Can it, Wilde!" she spat. "You're lucky that my leg is bad and my paws are occupied with keeping these stupid crutches in place!"

"Alright, I guess somebody doesn't want a nice warm apartment to sleep in tonight," he said convincingly.

Judy shot him a look, thinking that he was serious for a second.

"Kidding," he corrected. "I wouldn't do that to you."

"I'm trying. This is a lot harder than it looks!" she whined.

"Well, then I'm just going to have to carry you the rest of the way."

"Oh, don't be ridicul—Ahhh! Nick! Put me down!" she shouted as she was lifted into Nick's arms and over his shoulder against her will. She giggled when her crutches fell to the ground with a metallic clank and Nick bent down, groaning painfully as he was once again reminded of his bruised ribs. He kept his muzzle straight forward as he struggled, and failed, to keep the grin off of his face.

Judy thrashed in his arms, but eventually gave up and put on her best pouty face. "I'm not enjoying this."

"I'm not the one who tripped on a tusk and gashed open their leg. I'm not enjoying this anymore than you are, but we would have never made it to my apartment at the previous rate."

"I'd say you're enjoying this a _lot_ more than I am, Nick! I can practically hear your smile!"

"Ok, yeah, I'm enjoying this a little bit. Mostly just because you aren't."

"Of course you are…" Judy grumbled.

Nick had been right, though. Their previous speed was not much faster than a sloth, and, now that her leg wasn't impeding them, they were making much better time. As they passed other mammals, she noticed how all of them looked strangely at her. She made sure to look extra unamused, but didn't want people to think she was being abducted. She figured that would probably not bode well if they had the ZPD showing up at Nick's door as soon as they settled in for the night.

Like Nick had said, the walk was pretty short, and, soon enough, he was climbing the stairs to his apartment. She enjoyed the smells of the food cooking somewhere in the building. Judy could tell it was something spicy since just the scent of it burned her nostrils, but she kept sniffing because it smelled wonderful.

"My neighbors are red pandas. They eat a lot of curry." he explained. "They've even invited me over a couple of times before to try it. _Really_ spicy, but good stuff. You should try it sometime."

"No thanks. Not a spicy food kind of rabbit."

"Didn't think so, but they _do_ know how to make it mild. I wasn't aware the first time I tried it."

"Burned your mouth?" she asked, trying to get a look behind her.

"All the ice cream in the world wouldn't have saved my tongue," Nick shivered.

"You're a goof," she said while giving him a pat on the back.

"Alright, here we are. Down you go!" Nick stopped and finally let Judy down, being extra careful of her leg.

She graciously took her crutches and watched as Nick pulled out his keys and unlocked the door. He pushed it open and revealed the inside to Judy like he was a showgirl displaying a product on a game show. "Here it is. Home sweet home!"

She looked into the cozy two-bedroom apartment with satisfaction. Judy looked around a little bit and found his place to be small, but perfectly sized for just the two of them. Needless to say, she would much rather be here than in her old apartment. At least here, she wouldn't have to deal with annoying neighbors.

 _But is Nick going to be much better?_ she thought jokingly. There was a difference between him and her old neighbors though. She could handle Nick's little games to annoy her, while the other two were only doing it because that was who they were.

"So, what do you think? Will this work for you?" Nick asked.

Judy gave the living room another look. "It will be just fine. Where will I be sleeping?"

To this question, Nick put on a guilty smile as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, you see…there is a spare room, but…"

"But what?"

"There isn't a bed."

"No bed?" she repeated, trying not to sound disappointed.

"Nope. Just an empty room."

"That's fine. I can take the couch. Plenty big for me!" Judy smiled up at him reassuringly while bounding her way to the couch as well as she could on one leg.

"I know you probably want—Wait, what?" he questioned, his focus snapping back to her. "You're fine with the couch?"

"Of course! I'm not going to make you go out and buy me a mattress if I'm only going to be here for a little while!" she said while making herself comfortable.

"You're sure you want the couch? I could give you my room." he suggested.

"I don't want to smell like fox all the time!"

"Hey!" Nick crossed his arms with a smile. "What's that supposed to mean?!"

"It means you smell like a fox. If I sleep in your bed, I will smell like you!" Judy laughed, though he still seemed like he was offended by what she'd said. "Not that it's a bad thing, Nick. I'm sure I wouldn't mind smelling like you a little. But trust me, I'll be fine on the couch for a few weeks."

"Alright, if you say so. Hey, it's getting kinda late. How about we relax for the rest of the night? How does a movie sound?" Nick asked.

"Sounds great! Do you have Zoolu? If not, we can use my family's account. I'm sure they wouldn't' mind," she said as she patted the spot next to her.

"I've got it. No need to mooch off of your parents."

He climbed up and sat down with a noticeable distance between the two of them. Judy leaned to one side of the couch while Nick leaned to the other, effectively allowing them to just about stretch their legs out completely. He turned on the television and opened up his Zoolu account to begin searching for a movie.

"How about something like this?" Nick suggested while waving the remote at the TV screen. Judy almost immediately scoffed at seeing his selection to be one of the more recent action movies released.

"Haven't you had enough action for today?" Judy asked. "Don't you want to just relax? How about a comedy?"

Nick shrugged his shoulders. "I suppose you're right."

Judy watched as Nick continued to scroll through the options until she started bouncing up and down, pointing at the screen like a kit in a candy shop." Oh my gosh! John Moolaney! I had no idea any of his stuff was on Zoolu!"

Nick raised an eyebrow. "That skinny little whitetail is a comedian?"

"Yes!" Judy shouted. "And he's hilarious!" She could tell that Nick wasn't even a little interested, but she would not take no for an answer with this one. "C'mon, Slick! How long has it been since you've had a good laugh?" she asked, sending her best sad eyes his way.

Nick gave her an odd stare before breaking into a smile as he selected the stand up act. "Alright, Carrots. We'll watch this one."

The two settled into the couch as the show started. Judy would occasionally look over at Nick and would smile every time he laughed at a joke. He laughed particularly hard at a joke comparing drug dealing to food delivery, with the exception that the food delivery guy was never invited in to have some of the food. Judy laughed, but when Nick didn't stop laughing, she turned his way and waited for him to notice. When he finally did, he smiled nervously while shrugging his shoulders.

"What?" he asked before he scowled. "Oh, come on, Carrots! I was never a drug dealer! Quit looking at me like that!"

Judy chuckled. "Whatever you say, Slick."

It was a good change of pace to just sit down and relax with her friend after the events of the day. After Bellwether had been arrested, she could finally let her mind rest. Over the last few hours, Judy had been preoccupied by everything that she still needed to deal with. Nick had brought up her living situation, and, while he'd taken care of that, she still had a lot to do. She needed her parents to bring her clothes, as she only had the ones on her back. Her uniform was sitting at home. She needed to tell Bogo officially that she would reaccept her position. And yet, none of it mattered to her right now because she was happy to just sit and enjoy the moment for what it was.

Judy heard a scoff next to her as John Moolaney began talking about how much he enjoyed being married and how amazing it was to be in love. She turned to see Nick shaking his head and rolling his eyes.

"You don't agree?" she questioned him. "Didn't you ever want to meet that 'special someone'?"

"Haven't thought about it for years, Carrots. I've never really thought about it, actually."

"You like living alone?" she asked, taking her eyes off of the screen and looking directly at Nick. His eyes flicked to her and immediately back to the TV.

"Yes…and no. I would jump at the chance to get a permanent roommate, but no one has ever really caught my eye. Finnick says rent is just a 'social construct', and he refuses to pay it."

"Is that why he lives in the van?"

Nick stifled a giggle. "Yeah."

Judy turned her attention to the TV for a second before glancing back to Nick. His features had hardened.

He rubbed his brow. "Just do me one favor, Carrots. Please don't fall in love. You'll just end up getting hurt."

"Nick, I—"

"Remember, I'm right about everything," he said with a smile.

They both turned their attention back to the show, Judy only having one last thing to say on the topic. "I'll take your word for it."

It was halfway through the show when Judy's eyelids started to get extra heavy. She fought and fought with herself to stay awake, but the events of the day were starting to take their toll. Her world became dimmer with each passing second until her eyes closed completely, only for them to reopen what seemed like only a fraction of a second later. Judy looked at her surroundings, worried that she'd somehow ended up in some strange place. It only took her a moment to remember that she was in Nick's apartment.

"Figured you need to get some rest. Busy day, wasn't it?" Nick asked, holding out a pillow and blanket for her.

"Yeah, no kidding. How long was I out?" She rubbed her eyes.

"Only about fifteen minutes. You zonked out fast, though." Nick put the pillow at one end, before unfolding the blanket for her and throwing it over her head.

Judy struggled to get out of the trap and shot him a dirty look as soon as her head escaped.

"Sleep tight, Carrots. I'll see you in the morning," he said, giving her a sleepy smile as he walked to his room.

"You too, Slick," she yawned. "Goodnight."

With that, Nick disappeared into the depths of his room, and Judy was left alone in his living room—but she knew that she wasn't really alone. While she was driving to Zootopia, she had never expected to end up here. She hadn't even expect to have Nick help her all. In the end, though, he had done more than help her solve the case. He'd helped her mend their friendship. And, based on how she was sleeping on his couch, Judy figured that it was at its strongest. That fact helped her fall asleep almost instantly when her tired head hit the pillow.

* * *

Judy's paws explored her surroundings. Her eyes remaining closed, she felt a rough material beneath her fingers—some type of durable cloth, but she couldn't tell exactly what it was. She knew it was late morning due to how the light threatened to shine through her closed eyelids, and she was not about to let anything bring her completely out of sleep.

 _Just keep your eyes closed, Judy. You'll fall asleep again in no time…_

Just then, she heard a loud thump followed by an annoyed shout of "God damnit!"

Following the shout were a series of smaller thumps slowly getting louder and louder. She opened her eyes just far enough to barely see a frustrated red fox hopping on one foot into the living room. She tried to close them before he saw her, but Nick noticed that she was, in fact, awake.

"Oh, I didn't realize you were up, Carrots. Sleep well?" he asked while leaning against the wall, still holding his foot.

Judy sat up on the couch, still in her clothes from yesterday, and rubbed her eyes. "Yeah. I did. You alright?"

"I'm fine. Just dropped something on my foot."

"Sounded pretty heavy. What was it?"

"C'mere. I want to show you," Nick said as he waved her over to him.

Still lying on the couch, Judy crossed her arms. "Even after it attacked your foot? Brave fox!"

"Yeah, just follow me!" Nick waved her over even faster.

Judy uncovered herself and followed the hobbling fox into the spare bedroom. Not bothering to grab her crutches, she just used the wall to prop herself up. "Guess we are both limping now, huh?"

Nick simply waved behind him as he offered a chuckle. He led her into the spare room which was now filled with furniture. What she noticed right away was the small bed that was situated in the corner of the room.

"I dropped one of the legs on my foot while I was trying to get it into the corner. What do you think? I even picked up carrot print sheets!" Nick held up the light blue sheets with little carrots on them, still in their plastic container.

Judy raised an eyebrow. "You didn't have to do that, Nick! I was fine on the couch. How much did you spend on this?"

"Doesn't matter." Nick swatted with his paw. "I wasn't going to have you staying here without a real place to sleep. Try it out! See how it feels!"

Judy wasted no time walking over to the bed. She gave it a feel with her paw before struggling to get on top of it. When she finally did, she melted into it. This was the softest mattress she'd ever been on! "This is great, Nick! It's so comfy! C'mon! You try it, too!"

"Why do you think I picked that one? I've already lain down on it, and I knew you'd like it."

"How do you know I'd like it?" she questioned with a sneaky smile.

"Because it is super comfy! No mammal in the world enjoys sleeping on a rock-hard mattress!"

Judy sat up and dangled her legs over the edge of the bed. "You're right. Thank you, Nick. You really didn't have to do this."

"I didn't, but I wanted to," Nick said as he nervously swung his arms back and forth. "I wasn't going to force you to sleep on the couch until you found a place of your own. And besides, if I ever have other guests, they can sleep in this bed too, as long as they don't mind carrot print sheets."

The two shared a short laugh before they found themselves in complete silence. Judy still sat on her new bed, while Nick leaned against the wall. She pulled out her phone for a moment, before putting it back in her pocket. As she did so, Judy made eye contact with him and smiled. The fox gulped awkwardly before doing the same.

"Say, Nick. I needed to pick up my pain medication today. Mind giving me some help with that?"

His eyes brightened as he gave her a questioning stare. "You want me to pick them up? Just tell me where and I'll get them!"

"No, silly! Could you just go with me? Maybe we could grab a bite to eat while we're out!"

Nick looked down at his stomach as, right on cue, it growled loud enough that both of them could hear it. "I'd say that's a great idea, Carrots. Let me get you your crutches!"

Bolting out of the room, Nick came back with Judy's crutches a couple of seconds later. He handed them to her, and the pair walked out of the apartment together. Approaching the stairs, Judy was ready when Nick scooped her up and carried her fire-mammal style down to the streets below. The first time that he had done that she hadn't been prepared, but now she found it didn't bother her.

Judy let a pleased smile slip onto her face as they walked. It was nice to know that after what happened yesterday she had someone not only to live with, but someone that would be there to help while her leg healed.

 _Today is going to be a good day!_ she thought.

* * *

 **A/N: Enjoy? I do hope you did very much! You know, the movie has been out for over two years, I've been writing fanfiction for about a year and a half, and yet I've never done a story that began immediately after the arrest of Bellwether. Funny enough, this one almost didn't! About two weeks ago, this story had a completely different beginning, starting approximately three years after Nick's graduation from the academy! Don't ask me what made me think it was a good idea to change it so close to the release date of this story, but I did, so HA!**

 **Of course, if you enjoyed, please let me know how it was with a review. My editor, OnceNeverTwiceAlways is absolutely brilliant, so please give her a round of applause! Also, don't forget to follow and favorite!**

 **It's great to be back with another story. And as always, please take care. Have a great day!**

 **-Ande**

 **P.S. Despite me being free from the shackles of high school, updates will not be so frequent. Once a month perhaps? This is mostly a slice of life fic, so ideas for silly and fluffy situations are the life nectar of it. I have a good bank of ideas, but some of them have to wait for a little anecdote to come into fruition inside if this (potentially massive) story. There will be arcs, there will be (mostly) happy times, and a few not so happy times, but we'll save that for later.**

 **P.P.S. There is a reason it's called Scar Tissue… ^^^**


	2. Judy Becomes a Trainer

_Scar Tissue - Chapter 2 - Judy Becomes a Trainer_

 _Edited by OnceNeverTwiceAlways_

* * *

 _Three Days Later_

It felt good to be off of the crutches.

Judy walked down the sidewalk completely unaided, and the feeling of freedom coursing through her veins was as refreshing as a country breeze. For the last three days, she'd been restrained by them, and finally she was liberated.

As she sped down the street, she felt her wound become irritated and start to burn. Judy slowed down and immediately felt the pain ease in her leg. _Maybe I'm not completely back yet._ Before Judy made it to the small cafe at the corner of 35th and 6th, she'd also learned that adding a small limp to her strides helped keep the pain down. _That felt great…_

Judy stood outside the cafe and peeked in through the long front window. They weren't there yet. Pulling out her phone, Judy quickly typed in her parent's number and waited for their faces to appear on the tiny screen. The jittery feeling of adrenaline pulsed through her the moment she heard oblivious voices from the other end of the call.

"— _I told you we were going in the wrong direction!"_

" _Oh, here it comes again! Bucks never ask for directions—Judy!"_

A soft chuckle choked its way out as her father looked at her with a guilty smile. " _If you can't tell, we're a little lost."_

Judy smiled back and shook her head. "It's a grid system, Dad. What streets are you at?"

" _24th and 5th."_

"You're almost there," she assured them. "Eleven up and one over. How long have you guys been walking?"

" _Would have been there by now had you just asked for directions!"_ Judy's mother shot back at Stu in particular.

The older buck shook his head. " _Not the point, dear. We'll see ya in a few, Jude!"_

"See ya!"

The call ended, and Judy flew through the door. Right at the entrance was a sign that said 'PLEASE SEAT YOURSELVES' in fancy lettering. She took the sign's advice and found a booth right next to the large window she had looked through earlier. While she sat and drummed her fingers in anticipation, a thin kudu waitress came by.

"Anything to drink, ma'am?" she questioned, bringing a notepad and pen up to write with.

Judy thought for a moment before responding with a smile. "Just water for now," she hurried. "I'm waiting on two more."

The kudu nodded, but Judy stopped her before she could get away.

"Actually, make it three waters, with lemon, please."

Another nod and she was gone, leaving Judy by herself again. Before the waters arrived, Judy watched her parents walk inside the cafe and scan the space until they saw her. She waved them over with a welcoming smile. In their paws was a thick duffle bag. Stu leaned to the side it rested on. Judy knew it was packed to the brim.

"Sweetie! I'm so glad you're ok!" Bonnie exclaimed as she embraced her daughter with a kiss on the cheek. "Can I see it?"

Judy stared at her mother, before realizing what she was talking about. She pulled up the leg of her jeans, revealing a clean, white bandage to her mother.

"Dr. Garvey wants me to keep it wrapped when I'm in public. I let it breathe when I'm at home." Judy fought back the urge to gulp as concerned stares hit her from her mom and dad.

Like an angel sent from Heaven, the waitress came back with the three waters, each one with a lemon wedge on the rim. "Anything else I can get you three?" she asked in a forced sort of cheerfulness.

Her parents shook their heads.

Judy looked sheepishly at their waitress. "I think we're good for now."

The kudu left, and Judy brought her gaze back to her parents. "What? Is there something wrong?"

Bonnie exchanged Stu a nervous glance, putting a paw on his shoulder before turning back to her daughter. "Home?"

Judy released a frustrated sigh and let her head sink into her paws. "You guys know what I mean. I live with Nick, for now. Bunnyburrow will always be home to me. Never forget that," she said, giving them a reassuring smile. "But you can't be worried about me so much. I'm not a kid anymore."

"We know," Stu said, holding up a pointed finger. "You're an adult. You get to make your own choices. We just don't want you to forget where you came from, that's all!" he exclaimed reassuringly.

Judy looked at them, unamused. "It's about Nick, isn't it?"

Stu gulped. Bonnie elbowed him in the side.

"A little bit, yeah," her father sighed.

This time, Judy's head didn't fall into her paws. It hit them so hard she almost gave herself a headache.

"Ok!" she nearly shouted, placing her paws on the table harder than usual. "Let me give you some info to put your minds at ease. Nick has been more help than I needed these last few days. He's made sure I've been taking my meds. He's helped me get off of the couch when I needed it. He's even been cooking for me on occasion. Yesterday, we went for a walk! Nick isn't trying to pull anything. He's just trying to help!"

"But you're not going to live with him forever, are you? Because—"

"Mom—"

"You really should be looking—"

"Mom!"

"For a place of your own—"

Judy slammed an angry fist on the table "I _am_ looking for a new apartment!" Bonnie visibly flinched as Judy's temper got the better of her. Stu replaced his serious face with one of shock at his daughter's sudden outburst.

"I don't want to live with Nick forever," she sighed. "I just started looking, but I'm hoping to be out of there by the time he goes off to the Academy. That's in two months."

As Judy clenched her fists, a mixture of frustration and feeling misunderstood threatened to mist up her eyes. She knew that if she didn't calm herself down, she might let her anger get out of control and say something she didn't really mean. Taking deep breaths, Judy lowered her voice and her ears to try and explain things better.

"Nick is taking me in only until I find a new place. The moment that happens, I'm out of there."

Bonnie and Stu looked down at the table as if they were unable to look Judy in the eyes.

"Sorry…. We didn't mean to make you upset," said Stu.

"No, no," Judy interrupted. "I'm sorry. That was a bit unreasonable. I've been cooped up all week, and it's really driving me crazy."

"That's alright, Jude," her father continued. "The truth is, we only mentioned it because we _want_ you to be more independent. We saw what being on your own meant to you once it was taken away. Your mother and I just want to make sure you're getting on the right track."

Judy's ears shot up almost immediately. "You _want_ me to be far from home? I thought you were terrified of me being here in Zootopia!"

"We were," he said. "But after you came back home—and we thought it was for good—we realized that you don't belong on the farm. You belong here, doing everything you can to make the world a better place. Of course, you're still welcome home anytime," he said with a genuine smile.

Judy's eyes looked everywhere but at her parents. For the first time in her life, she had full support from them to chase her dream. Previously, she knew they would do nothing to stop her, but there had always been a certain amount of hesitation about letting her go. That was no longer the case, and the feeling was overwhelming.

She chuckled as she tried to hold back her tears of joy. "Guys…. I don't even know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything, Judy," her mother added. "You've got all of us rooting for you. The entire Hopps family is on your side, now."

Overcome with happiness, Judy leapt out of her seat and hugged her parents tightly, giving both of them a quick kiss on the cheek. "I love you _so_ much! Hey! You aren't leaving anytime soon, are you?"

Her parents both gave her a silent 'no'. "We plan on being here for a few days," her father said. "Might as well take a little break since we drove so far to get here!"

"Maybe we could get together later this week. I don't suppose you'd be opposed to meeting, Nick, would you?" Judy was pleasantly surprised when her dad didn't gulp or give off any indication that he was indifferent. He didn't look excited, but it was better than an absolute no without hesitation.

"I don't see why not. You have made him sound like a real stand-up fellow!"

"If you find the time, we'll be free to do whatever, dear," her mother said.

"I'll see what he thinks," Judy pulled out her phone quickly to check the time, then began gathering her things. "Listen, I'd love to chat some more, but I've got a meeting with Chief Bogo pretty soon. I'd rather not go there with a duffle bag."

With her clothing slung over he shoulder, Judy bid her parents one last farewell before skipping out of the cafe and towards home. As she did, her stomach growled, causing her to slow down for a moment. She could have stayed and eaten with her parents, but she knew that Nick had plenty for them to eat. With no income at the moment, she figured it would be best to save some money and eat at home.

Walking down the street, Judy couldn't stop smiling. She was happy about the short meeting with her parents. More importantly, it was great to get back to Nick's apartment, even if she would only be there for a little while. The feeling of being off of her crutches was still new, and she was sure that he would be glad to see her healing so well.

She didn't know how he did it, but the fox was always in a good mood. She hadn't once seen him angry or upset. The closest she'd seen was him being serious. Whenever he was serious, nine times out of ten he still had a smile on his muzzle. And that smile was infectious like the flu.

She really liked living with Nick. Everything that he did for her was only done out of the goodness of his heart. She didn't need him to do anything for her. The twice-daily reminders to take her medication, the help getting off the couch, the simple, yet delicious, home-cooked meals—none of it was necessary for her to be happy living with him. For all she cared, she could see him a couple of times throughout the day, say a few things to him, and still be happy. Nick didn't go out of his way to make sure she was comfortable and enjoying her temporary stay. Anything he did was because _he_ wanted to.

It was a point that Judy apparently gotten across to her parents. After she'd brought up everything that he had done for her, the subject had changed entirely—much to her relief. Bonnie and Stu's professional relationship with Gideon Grey was not enough to make Judy think they had completely changed their views on foxes. Her parents could get along with anyone as long as they weren't forced to be around them too often. Judy didn't see any sort of animosity between Gid and her parents. Friendship was a long shot, but they sure made good business partners.

Judy's pleased skipping ended as she approached the entrance to Nick's apartment. Humming happily to herself, she bounded up the stairs to the second floor and down the hall to the door. She felt a tinge of giddiness as she inserted the key and gently pushed open the door. A blast of cooler air and musky fox hit her as she entered the threshold. Immediately her ears picked up something strange. It was quiet...too quiet.

Judy remembered her training, staying low and keeping her ears erect to hear anything before she could see it. Her heart began pumping hard—so hard that she had to take a moment to breathe and calm down so that she could hear everything.

As quietly as she could, Judy padded to the main hallway and listened. A noise almost like grinding turned her ears towards Nick's room. She narrowed her eyes, wondering what could have possibly made such a strange sound. She crept up to the slightly open door and looked in. She couldn't see anything out of the ordinary.

She heard the sound again, this time a bit louder. _Alright then_ …. _Guess I'll have to go all the way in._

Judy snuck into Nick's room, straightening her stance as soon as her eyes caught Nick's bed and the red-furred arm that hung over the edge. She smiled, but shook her head.

"How can you possibly still be asleep?" she said without bothering to hush her voice.

Nick's head turned, and he opened his eyes slightly. As soon as Judy caught his groggy stare, Nick appeared to finally realize that she was standing there and his eyes shot wide open.

"Carrots?" he asked quietly. "Why are you in my room so early?"

With feigned impatience, Judy pulled out her phone to check the time, then set it on the dresser next to her. "It is 12:30. Breakfast is _long_ over! How on earth do you sleep past noon?"

Nick sat up and cracked his neck as he chuckled. "I don't know. I just _do_. Not like I have any responsibilities to take care of. Well, not today, at least."

The rabbit pinched her brow and shook her head. It wasn't like they had stayed up late the night before. The little she'd seen, Nick didn't usually stay up very late. Her foot started tapping as she realized that this behavior was going to be a much bigger issue in a short amount time.

"You can't be a police officer and get up at noon everyday," she said quietly. "I think you're about to be in a world of hurt, Nicholas."

"Hey, now. You're not my mother—"

"You're right. I'm not your mother," she said factually. "But this makes me realize that you go off to the academy in two months."

Nick waited for her to continue, nodding his head as if trying to get her to speak. "That has been established. What's your point?"

Judy groaned. "Are you serious? Do you understand what it takes to be a cop? You don't get to sleep in like this! You need to be up before the sun and not complain like a little baby! You need to be in top physical form!" As she finished, Judy walked up to him and grabbed his arm roughly. She examined his bicep for a second before giving it a squeeze. She let go of his arm and burst out laughing.

Nick scowled at her. "What's so funny now?"

"Your arm is as soft as a marshmallow!" she snorted. Several seconds passed as Judy slowly composed herself. When she could speak without bursting into more laughing fits, she continued, "Slick, it's time to start your training a little early. You have a lot of work to do, and I am going to help you prepare for the Academy."

The fox gulped but put on a grin. "This is going to hurt, isn't it?"

"Probably." Judy sent him back a smile, shaking her head in an amused manner. " It will take me some time to make up a curriculum for you. I know it will mostly involve getting you in shape, but I'm going to give you a head start on the knowledge too."

At that, Nick's shoulders fell forward and his ears flattened against the back of his head.

She rested her paw reassuringly on his shoulder. "I know you're nervous. Don't worry. I was, too. But remember I believe in you. I know you'll do great."

Nick gave her a half smile as he inched back slightly, causing her paw to fall off of his shoulder. "I hope you're right. Would you believe me if I said I was scared about this?"

Judy scoffed while allowing a smile to press in the corners of her lips. "The Great Nick Wilde? Scared? I didn't think it was possible!"

"No, it's true," he said. "For the first time in my life, I'm out of my comfort zone. And I mean _way_ out of it! The hustling just came naturally to me. This is like nothing I've ever done before."

"You've normally been running from the cops, haven't you?" she teased.

"Ha. Real funny, Carrots." Nick let out a fake laugh. "But no. You said I might make a pretty good cop. Sure, I'm good at deducing, but I've never been the best at following orders."

"Well, then," Judy said, putting on a mischievous smirk. "I guess we'll have to work on that first. Give me twenty push ups, now!"

Nick chuckled. "You can't be seri—"

"NOW, WILDE!"

WIth a quick and lazy salute, Nick removed his sheets and dropped to the floor. Suddenly seeing Nick mostly naked, Judy had to turn away for a second. Giving herself the courage to look at him so immodest, she knelt down to observe his form as he breezed by five of them. "Watch your depth! Touch the floor with your chest!"

While breathing hard, Nick tried his best to speak. "This is ridicu—"

"No talking! Only push ups!" Judy encouraged.

Getting near fifteen, Nick started showing signs of slowing drastically. By the twentieth, he was completely out of strength in his arms and, upon getting to the top, instantly collapsed to the carpeted floor, panting and exhausted.

Judy spoke softly into the tired fox's ear. "If that's the best you can do, you're not going to last a day at the Academy." She stood and helped Nick up. "I think it would be best for you to do some simple upper body workouts like that for a while until I find a gym we can go to. As soon as I can run, we'll start running. I'll start you out light so that you can get your body used to regular exercise. Also, I want you to do four more sets of push ups today."

"Are you kidding?" Nick scoffed. "You want me to do a hundred of them?"

Judy looked at him seriously. "Do you want me to make it two hundred? I suggest you get going with those, otherwise I'll add in more things. Like I said, I'm starting you off easy." Before she could continue, Judy's stomach growled once again.

Nick smiled. "Ma and Pa didn't buy you lunch?"

"No," Judy frowned, starting to regret not grabbing a bite to eat with her parents. "I'm starving."

"Hi, starving! I'm Ni—" The fox was stopped by a small duffle bag hitting him in the face. "Ok, I deserved that one."

Laughing it off, Judy walked out of Nick's room, towards the threshold of their apartment and jingled her keys as if she was leaving again. Nick must have been caused some amount of distress by her sudden actions, as he sprinted out of the room with pants half on after her.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"I was planning on eating when I got home," Judy explained. "But since I had to deal with _your_ lazy butt, I've decided to go out. I have a meeting with Chief Bogo about returning to duty. I might as well push it a little bit ahead of schedule." As she spoke, Judy approached the door. Nick followed her and, when they stopped, Nick leaned against the wall.

"When do you think you'll be back?" he asked.

Judy shrugged. "I don't know. I was thinking of going to the mall afterwards to go on a little shopping spree. My favorite pair of jeans have a large tear in them and are covered in blood."

"You don't want a big, strong fox to go with you in case you get tired?" Nick mocked.

The rabbit smiled, shaking her head. "None of those words describe you except for 'fox'. I'll be fine. Do the exercises I told you to, and I'll see you later, Slick." Judy opened the door and walked out into the hall. She turned back briefly to see Nick flash her a smile.

"See ya, Carrots. Have fun with Buffalo-Butt."

She smiled back, nodding as she shut the door behind her. Locking it, she headed for the stairs and some new answers regarding when she would begin her life as a police officer once again.

* * *

 _Precinct One - Chief Bogo's Office_

A clock hanging from the wall ticked with varied timing. It would speed up, slow down, stop altogether, then catch up quickly. It was an old clock, and one with an obvious flaw—yet it stayed on the wall. Chief Bogo wouldn't let anyone take it down. He liked the clock, no matter how infuriating the second hand may be. It was still accurate, despite the strange behavior.

He didn't like change. The last time things had changed was when he was promoted to Chief of Police nearly fifteen years ago. But then the strangest thing had happened. A clever piece of legislation had allowed for a very small thorn to pierce his side and change everything all over again.

Bogo hadn't wanted to have a rabbit as a police officer, at least not in his precinct. She had guts—he could give her that—but she was a liability to the entire force under his command. When Lionheart had sent her over to Precinct One, Bogo had done everything he could to have the decision overturned. But the grumpy old lion wouldn't have it. "You're more than welcome to switch precincts," Lionheart had told him. No matter who he had to look after, Bogo would never think of working anywhere else.

If Lionheart wouldn't help him, then he had decided he was just going to have to get rid of her himself. Parking duty was hated by everyone, especially by the more experienced officers who occasionally had to do the task. Newcomers typically did it, but he could easily make it difficult. A hundred tickets a day wasn't exactly a small number. The rabbit would have to go all over the city to find that many violations worthy of a citation. It was a fool proof plan indeed. Bore her to the point that she would just up and quit.

Bogo looked at the summary before him, dated May 15th, 2016. On it was a simple report of activity from Officer Judy Hopps on that day—her first day on the force, to be precise. It was five pages long, consisting of every single citation she had issued that day. Over three hundred of them, the majority coming before noon. Protocol for filing the document was that it shouldn't be disposed of until all of the citations had been settled. Once that had been the case, he had grabbed it and put it in his personal filing cabinet. He hadn't liked the rabbit, but what she did was impressive, he couldn't deny.

And just when he'd thought he had another chance to get rid of her, he had underestimated her again. The Missing Mammals case had thrown them off their rhythm for weeks, and then she had come along and found every single one, seemingly without any trouble. Bogo was confident in his decisions, but that little rabbit had made him rethink what he had already decided.

He wanted to apologize to her. He had tried, but there had never seemed to be a time that was right. This wasn't some silly little misunderstanding that could be solved with a quick "sorry". This was genuine discrimination based solely off of who she was and what she wanted so badly to be. Bogo didn't often make mistakes, and, when he did, they were usually pretty harmless. This mistake helped push Hopps to the point of giving up on her dream. That, to the buffalo, was unforgivable.

With her gone, she'd almost fallen out of his mind for a while. In the days that had followed, Bogo had thought about her a lot, but, eventually, he'd no longer dwelled on his biggest mistake. Now, with her back, he was not going to let anything get in the way of issuing an apology that needed to be heard.

" _Chief, Judy Hopps is here for your 1:00 meeting."_ The voice took him by surprise. He checked his wall clock for the time and found that it was only a quarter to one in the afternoon.

"Send her up," Bogo answered clearly. He rubbed his brow for a moment after speaking. Suddenly knowing that she was here made him slightly nervous, more than he could ever remember feeling. He shouldn't have been, that was for sure. On the outside, it looked like it was just a meeting with a bunny. In reality, this was one of the hardest tasks a mammal could to.

Face their fears.

He waited in silence for only a minute before tiny knocks sounded on the other side of his closed door.

"Enter," he stated proudly, doing his best to not sound at all thrown by a determined little bunny. The door opened, and he was greeted with a smiling face and a slight limp.

"Good afternoon, Chief Bogo," she said happily.

He smiled back at her. "Good afternoon, Miss Hopps. Unpredictable as always, but I can work with that."

Judy noticeably enjoyed the joke he'd made, brightening her smile even more and letting out an audible, yet quiet, laugh.

"No one seems to get used to that," she joked, but immediately donned a more serious expression. "But I imagine there is quite a bit that needs to be discussed. We should get right to it."

Bogo grunted in confirmation, throwing on a pair of reading glasses and putting some paperwork in front of himself. "I suppose we should. It's been three days since your incident, and I see the injury is healing well. Does this give you any indication as to when you could return to regular duty?"

Judy limped over to the oversized chair in front of Bogo's desk and managed to get seated without much issue. "If at all possible, sir, I would like to come back next week and begin with desk duty. Maybe I can get back to regular duty in three weeks as long as my leg heals properly. I want to be back as soon as possible."

"I think we could make that work," Bogo said. "I was unsure as to whether you wanted to be on desk duty or not. I'm happy to hear so. The sooner the ZPD can get you back, the more we benefit, I imagine."

"The faster I can begin fixing things," Judy quickly added to the end of his statement, causing the buffalo some amount of confusion.

"I beg your pardon?" he questioned. "What do you mean by that?"

Judy noticeably tensed up for a moment, but after a brief moment of silence, she clasped her paws together and explained. "I said some hurtful things, Chief. The press conference immediately after I found the missing mammals...that helped ignite some pretty bitter hatred, I imagine. I helped _fuel_ Bellwether's plot to rid the city of predators. There's no way I'll ever be able to get rid of that stain, but I'll do whatever it takes to make things right. I've already begun fixing things with Nick."

Bogo narrowed his eyes slightly and grunted. Just hearing the name of that fox was enough to fire up some sort of mistrust. He had no _real_ reason to dislike the fox, but as far as he was concerned, he should keep a close eye on him. Bogo had learned over the years to never trust someone until he knew they could be trusted. With the recent event of receiving his application to the ZPA, one that was completely unwrinkled and filled out beautifully, Bogo was starting to regret being so harsh to him before.

"Speaking of Mr. Wilde," Bogo grumbled. "What is that fox up to? Last I saw you and him were walking off together."

Judy rubbed her paws together and chuckled nervously. "He's actually taken me in for a little while. I'll be living with him until I can find an apartment of my own."

"I trust that your search will be over soon?" Bogo asked.

"I don't think so," Judy said, sounding slightly disappointed. "I'm not going to want anything like what I used to live in. I'll be a lot more picky about it this time around."

"Hmm."

Bogo saw it right away. Judy's ears caught the disgust in his voice immediately. "Sir, is there something that you don't like about Nick? I noticed that you weren't the...kindest to him before."

Bogo sighed. He knew that the only way to show Judy that he trusted her was that he was honest with her, as well as all of his officers. Without such a quality, he never would have become Chief in the first place.

"Hopps," he said in a hushed voice. "Mr. Wilde is different than anyone I've ever met. He rubbed me the wrong way when I nearly fired you. And part of me still wants to feel like I have something against him. I am confident in your decision to have him partake in the ZPA, but part of me doesn't want to see him fail."

Judy smiled, crossing her arms. "You've got a bigger heart than the others give you credit for."

He chuckled a little. "I'm only hard on those that I want to see succeed."

"You're not alone. I don't want him to fail, either. I've already begun training him so that he'll be ready to go when the time comes. Nick is...stubborn at times, but he's also determined when he wants to be. I'll be there along the way to give him motivation when he struggles to find it himself. You said it would be on me if he let you down. I wouldn't let that happen twice in a million years," she finished.

Bogo couldn't help but give her a proud smile in return. He was impressed. For someone who had fallen so hard, she could bounce back as if nothing had happened at all.

"I'll just have to put all of my trust in your decision, as well as training skills." Bogo took a quick glance at the clock. The meeting was planned on being short, and, as far as he was concerned, they had taken care of everything that needed addressing, plus a little more. "I suppose I should see you next week in uniform."

"You will, sir," she responded proudly. Judy lowered herself off of the chair carefully and began her walk to the door.

"Hopps!" The half-volume shout stopped her immediately. "One more thing. I suppose you might want to know some things regarding Bellwether's trial."

Judy turned around and offered her full attention.

"She's currently being charged with treason, conspiracy, and forty-one counts of aggravated assault. It could be forty-two plus an attempted murder charge if you and Wilde decide to press charges."

The rabbit paused for a moment as if contemplating the suggestion. Her nose twitched before she looked him fully in the eyes and shrugged. "I think she's got enough on her plate as is. I don't think that will be necessary. And if Nick wanted to press charges, I think he would already be knee deep in it."

With that, Judy gave a head nod and trotted out the door. Bogo stood there, staring at the doorway that soon closed on its own. With a smile and a shake of his head, he sat back down and got to work again.

 _You are an unpredictable rabbit, Hopps. Keep that up, and you'll go places in the ZPD._

* * *

 **A/N: Oops… that took a little while XD**

 **I really didn't mean to keep you guys waiting so long, things just got in the way. I got caught up in summer and enjoying my last bits of freedom before I enter the adult portion of life. Now summer is mostly over (as hard as that is to say) and I'm only 11K words deep into this story. Hopefully the next chapter is out before I head off to college!**

 **I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I think you'll like what I have coming up next! By the time you see this, I'll probably be on a plane flying back home from vacation! Believe it or not, I got a ton of writing done while in Phoenix!**

 **Don't forget to review, follow and favorite! Take care, have a great day!**

 **-Ande**


	3. Nick's Run

_Scar Tissue - Chapter 3 - Nick's Run_

 **A/N: Alrighty, my dudes, Chapter 3 is finally here. A small suggestion, the final scene in the chapter was inspired by the oh-so-famous scene from Rocky II wonderfully and creatively named "Rocky's Run". Go ahead and google the music for it (I only know the song as 'that one song from Rocky') and listen to it during the final scene. Should make it even better! Enjoy!**

* * *

 _Two Days Later_

Fear.

Treachery.

Bloodlust?

At this point, Nick figured the last one might fit. His entire body felt like it was being licked by tongues of fire with each movement from his arms and legs. If his body was capable of sweating, he knew he'd be drenched by now.

Slowly getting further ahead of him was Judy on her new bicycle. Its shiny new frame glistened in the afternoon sunlight with each pump Judy sent through her legs. Nick had gone with her to buy it a couple of days ago. The moment she saw it's sparkly navy blue paint job, she just had to have it. He enjoyed seeing her so excited about the bunny-sized bike and decided to give her a little present to go along with it. She only purchased the bike, but Nick bought some letters to put on the side, so it now bore "ZPD" on both sides in clean white decals.

The burning in his muscles started to get the better of him and he slowed to a half-jog, half-slightly-faster-walk. His forepaws pumped slowly by his sides, dangling like lifeless fish at the market. His eyelids struggles to stay open as exhaustion began dragging him down. With one final push to show Judy that he was getting stronger, he fought back against the pain and moved just a few yards further before collapsing onto the ground, panting and wheezing like some old geezer who tried to get out of bed too quickly.

The sound of a bicycle tire skidding turned his ears forward, and eventually he saw a brief glimpse of Judy riding by. Seconds later, she stood over him. The sun was so bright in the afternoon sky that her face was just a silhouette. He didn't need to see her expression to know that she was disappointed. He didn't even react to her approaching, which prompted the bunny to poke him in the side very gently with her foot. As soon as her toes poked him, he grabbed at the area quickly and started giggling like a little kit.

"Sides...sensitive…" he panted with a silly and exhausted smile. Judy simply shook her head. A cloud moved in and covered the sun, giving Nick a glimpse at Judy's face and the rest of her body. She, too, smiled but still shook her head. "Have I said it looks like you're ready for Tour de Furance in that getup?"

Judy threatened to poke his side with her foot again. Nick flinched and instinctively tried to protect his side. He watched Judy closely as she waved her paw in the air and sat down to take a break. Covering her torso was a very tight and form-fitting top, one not unlike those worn by professional cyclists. Her shorts were of similar fashion, tight and designed to reduce drag to help her slip through the air much easier.

"Maybe I should do the Tour de Furance. Who knows? Maybe I'd be good at it," Judy said as she fiddled around with her water bottle.

Nick tried his best to laugh, but it ultimately came out as a loud breath out without any voice to it. "Knowing you, you'd break some sort of record…" Judy walked back over to him, grabbed her water bottle and took a quick drink. She held it over his mouth and he opened up, allowing her to squirt the cool liquid into his mouth. After feeling refreshed, Nick held his paw out.

"Help a fox up?" Judy smiled and grabbed his paw without any hesitation. While her strength was impressive, nearly all of it resided in her legs. Her upper body strength was a bit lacking, and as soon as she tried pulling Nick up, she realized that and so did Nick. Her eyes widened as, instead of bringing Nick up, he pulled her down just by his weight. She landed on his chest with an 'oof' from both of them. As soon as she recovered, she looked at him and quickly noticed that their muzzles were mere inches from each other.

She smiled awkwardly before backing away quickly and getting off of his torso. He slid back on the pavement before turning over, finally able to stand up under his own strength. While they stood silently, Nick rubbed the back of his neck and looked around to take his mind off of what had just occurred.

"Wanna...um, take a break?" he asked, nodding his head in the direction of a park bench. Judy gave him a thumbs up and went to retrieve her bicycle. Nick slowly approached the bench with his paws covering his head, taking deep breaths to calm his heart rate. Soon enough, Judy wheeled over and let her bike rest against its kickstand. She hopped up onto the bench and leaned back, letting the afternoon sun warm her exposed fur.

"You're doing great," she said softly. "Keep this up and you'll do fine at the academy."

Nick gave a wheezy chuckle in response, taking a moment to cough before catching his breath once more. "I always hated running. Still do."

"Better get used to it," Judy said. "Foot patrol won't be easy if you can't get into shape."

"I used to be good at running."

Judy smiled, but shook her head. "Right. Running from who?"

"Exactly." Nick pulled out his phone, and his stomach growled with perfect timing. "Have I really gotten better?"

Nick watched Judy get down from the bench and do some light stretching. She turned around and extended her paws to him. "As much as you could've. You've still got time, so keep doing what you're doing and I know you'll be happy with the results."

Nick grabbed her paws as she helped him off the bench. "You ready to eat?"

His ears immediately flattened around his head. "Do we really have to do this? I'm not overly excited about being interrogated today."

She waved him off without hesitation. "You'll be fine. We're sitting down, having a quick meal and a little bit of getting to know each other. If it makes you feel any better, my mom and dad chose to eat at Buggaburger."

Nick ears shot up as upright as they could go. "Say _what_ , now, Carrots?"

She shrugged. "Apparently they have one of the best salads they've ever eaten, so they chose there. I'm sure you'd be fine with that."

He wasn't going to complain. His mouth was already watering just thinking about a delicious and juicy double cricket burger with the works. It definitely wasn't the healthiest of foods out there, but it was certainly one of his favorites.

"We should probably get going," Judy said, looking off in the distance. "The one we're meeting at is a bit of a jaunt from here. How does the subway sound?" she asked, turning back to him.

Nick, still slightly out of breath, put on a delighted smile. "Sounds like heaven."

The two walked off together, staying silent and pondering what was about to happen. They came upon the city, entering into a vastly different atmosphere from the park they were just in. Cars crept by on the crowded downtown streets. Mammals of all shapes and sizes took over the sidewalks, most of them busy with their phones or oblivious to the sounds of the city due to headphones on full blast. Nick noticed it all, and as they came closer and closer to the subway station, his mind closed in on one thing.

He didn't really know how to act once they arrived to meet Judy's parents. Smooth talking was one of his many strengths, but it would only set him back, here. Lying to complete strangers was easy for him. To do it to people that were more significant than any random passerby wasn't even feasible, in his eyes. But as they descended into the depths of the subway station, Nick felt that after today, it wouldn't matter. He likely would never meet them again, and if he did, it would only be a quick 'hello' and they would be gone again like a passing storm.

Judy wheeled her bike over to a nearby bike rack and locked it up tight. Rejoining Nick, they walked to the open subway car and headed on their way to lunch.

* * *

Subway seats were a rare commodity on occasion. They weren't particularly comfortable, but anytime one was available, it wouldn't last long. How Nick and Judy were able to secure a seat was beyond them.

Up against his side was Judy, resting her head on the back of the oversized seat and eyes only narrow slits of violet as she struggled to keep them open. They would close, then shoot wide open, and the vicious cycle continued for the majority of the ride.

Nick couldn't get himself to sit still, and his proximity to his friend was probably the reason. Being this close to Judy was just weird. The silence between them probably didn't help, but it shouldn't have been such a strange thing to him. They did live together, after all. Sharing a bathroom wasn't this hard, so why this was any different, Nick would likely never figure out. He felt the subway push them closer together and when it stopped, he was relieved to be able to stand. His legs felt like noodles after the several miles he'd ran following after Judy, but he'd rather deal with that.

Judy led the way, and when they emerged from the depths of the subway they headed down the street. In the distance he could make out the sign hanging from the side of the building, only a few more blocks to go and they would be there.

Nick's heart began pumping hard as if he was alone in the dark and something just barely touched his leg. His mind didn't want to focus on anything else, so he scrambled to find something to distract himself with. His eyes scoured the street for anything, and they fell on the slight limp that his friend walked with.

"What's with the limp? I thought your leg was good?" he asked, voice laced with concern and quiet, even amidst the bustling of the afternoon.

Judy stared into her phone as she limped forward. She briefly looked up, and then pocketed the device. "It's not fully healed, yet. I think we've done too much today. Might be best to give it a break the rest of the day."

"Hmm." Nick watched her limp. Her face seemed to want to show the pain she was in. He could tell she was holding back the urge to hiss and goan. "You gonna be able to go back to work next week?"

"I'll be fine."

"Not good enough, sweetheart. If you're gonna push me like this, no sense in doing the same to yourself. Take things easy, alright?"

Judy sighed. "I suppose. I'm just sick of waiting, ya know? I need to get back to work or I'm gonna go insane!"

Walking inside of the small restaurant, Nick watched Judy scan the space. Her ears drooped after a while. "Let's grab a seat," she said. "I don't think my parents are here, yet."

The two found and empty booth and Nick slid onto the cool bench seat, Judy taking a seat next to him. He glanced down at her as she rubbed her head and eased a little closer to the wall.

For a while, Nick tapped his claws on the table in anticipation, taking the occasional moment to check them, go back to tapping, and continue the cycle for a while. After a few minutes of silence, he glanced over at Judy who had her nose buried in her phone, fingers flying over the screen in such a blur he had to wonder how she knew what she was typing. As quickly as she typed, her phone rang and she answered it without hesitation.

"Hey, Dad, what's up? We're already here."

Nick could have sworn his heart skipped a beat as Judy's ears drooped and her excitement flooded out as if a drain plug had been pulled. She nodded a couple of times before giving a quiet 'ok' and hanging up. Her phone stayed in her paws as she looked up at him.

"My, uh… parents had to go back home. Dad said there was an emergency. They're on the train right now."

As Judy rubbed her brow, Nick could only ponder what to say. From what he could see, she must have really wanted to get to see them today. He knew that her meeting with them a couple of days ago was pretty short. This would have probably been the last time she would see them for a while.

"It's gonna be fine. I'm sure they'll be in town soon enough," he said. It didn't seem to do anything to make her feel better.

"I don't know…they hardly ever get to visit. It's fine, though."

Nick smiled. "It's not fine, isn't it?"

Judy looked taken aback before she too put on a tiny smile. "I said it's fine, Nick. It isn't bothering me."

"I can tell it is," he said. "You look flustered."

"I do not!"

"Yeah, you do."

With a grumble, Judy got out of the booth and motioned for Nick to follow her. "C'mon, Slick. Time to head home."

"But I need to eat something. That's why we came here, right?"

Nick's insides began to churn when he saw that smirk on Judy's face. "I was only going to give you a free pass because you'd have to deal with meeting my parents. But now that that's not happening, I guess you'll just have to stick to your diet that contains _no fried food._ You've got your meals at home."

Nick grumbled. "I can't believe you make me eat that crap. I haven't had a bugga burger in weeks!"

"Too much complaining, not enough running! Get your butt moving, or I'm going to have to start kicking it!"

Though his stomach growled for him to sit back down, he forced himself up and followed Judy back outside. They walked in silence up until they arrived back at the entrance leading down to the subway.

"I suppose I'm going to be running back?" Nick asked, already dreading the answer.

With an all-too-joyful smile, Judy nodded her head. "Of course. I'll see you when you get back home!"

"Wait, you're not riding back with me?"

"Oh, heavens no!" Judy exclaimed. "My leg hurts way too much. I'll be taking the subway back. Have a nice run!"

And with that, Judy hobbled down into the depths of the subway station, leaving Nick by himself. His stomach growled once again, reminding him that the longer he waited, the hungrier he was going to be. With that, his mind and body became filled with determination as he took off towards home.

* * *

 _One Week Later_

The morning sun filtered through the window right onto Nick's face. As his sleeping form did his best to stay asleep, the warmth the light provided was just enough to keep him from a few more minutes of rest. With eyes still closed, Nick felt around for his desk so he could find his clock. But as his paw reached out, it hit a hard metal wall. His eyes shot open to reveal a dirty and old orange paint job, and the light that hit his face did not come through the window of his bedroom, but through the windows of a crummy van.

"Fin!"

The shout was loud enough to hurt anyone's ears within the small confines of the vehicle, especially the sensitive ears of the tiny fennec fox idly passing the time watching from the driver's seat.

"You good? Sounds like you's gettin' stabbed or somethin'."

Nick took in quick, but deep breaths as he tried to figure out his situation. "Fin… I fell asleep in my own warm and comfy bed last night… How did I end up on the nasty floor of your van?!"

Finnick chuckled as he hopped down from the seat and walked over to him, dragging a large plastic bag behind him. "The bunny did it. Here," he said as he lobbed the bag over to him with all his strength. "She wants ya t'put this on. Oh, and make sure ya read the note she scribbled for ya." Finnick went back to his seat and pulled out his phone, leaving Nick with the bag and the note. He unfolded it and began reading.

" _Nick, I packed your tracksuit for you. You might want to get it on. Meet me at the ZPD in 30 minutes. Don't worry, I'll keep time for you." - Carrots_

As he finished the note, he looked up at Finnick, who sent back a smirk. "I just sent the text. Clock's tickin' private!"

Nick didn't need any more warning than that. He scrambled to throw on his light gray tracksuit, leaving no regard for anything else. He flew out the back doors of Finnick's van and began running at a slower pace than usual. He took in his surroundings, a large junction of train tracks filling almost his entire field of vision. He knew almost immediately that this wasn't going to be as simple as just running to the ZPD. He was going to have to figure out where he was and work from there. At the moment he had no clue where he was in regards to his destination, but the route of the railroads going through Zootopia was his first clue. He just had to keep running. Soon enough they would lead him nearer downtown.

His lungs burned, and his determination to finish this fueled him, pushing him forward. As he ran, he heard his name called out to him from a conductor who waved as he passed. He offered a wave in return, continuing his race against the clock. Soon, the surroundings started to look more familiar and he smiled, picking up speed and focusing on what all of his training meant. Growing ever closer to his destination, mammals minding their business watched as he ran, some encouraging and running behind him. He took a moment to look back, seeing a crowd of perhaps ten or so following from a distance. All he could do was smile and keep pressing forward.

Downtown filled his vision; he could almost smell the ZPD he was so close. Despite how his legs and lungs burned, he kept going, not letting anything get in his way. The crowd behind him grew with each passing second, keeping his tired and aching form from giving up. He wasn't going to let some bunny throw him off like this. Judy was clever, he could give her that, but it took a lot more than a surprise challenge to get him down. He picked up even more speed.

From behind, the sound of a massive crowd made his heart pound even harder, keeping him at a steady pace for nearly a mile. Shouts of his name encouraged him. His own desire to make the whole world see what he was capable of pushed him. As clear as day, he saw the ZPD in the distance. He was so close.

Nick knew what he needed to do. To the sound of his name being chanted, he broke into a full sprint, closing the distance between him and his destination faster than ever. It was so close, now, all he had to do was last a little longer and he was done. He broke away from the crowd, the roar hushed and was replaced by the sound of wind rushing past his ears. His arms pumped with each extended stride, soon helping him up the few steps that lead to his future home. Outside the ZPD was Judy, dressed in her uniform and watching as he approached, a pleased smile growing wider as he grew closer.

As he reached the apex of the stairs, he jumped in the air and let out a screech of excitement and threw his arms into the sky. Judy closed the distance and wrapped him in a tight hug, but quickly pushed him away with a giggle.

"You smell like you haven't showered!" she exclaimed. Nick, hunched over and panting, looked at her and let out a tired chuckle of his own.

"I wonder why…" he barely got out. Nick looked over to see the crowd of mammals that followed him on his short journey clapping and hollering. "Why did they follow me?"

Judy shrugged. "Beats me, lets get inside, there are some mammals who want to talk to you."

She wrapped an arm around Nick's waist as they slowly made their way into the ZPD building. Nick breathed a sigh of relief as they entered, feeling the cool air and greatly enjoying the moment to let his tired limbs rest. Rather than taking the stairs, Judy was merciful enough to let him take the elevator up to the second floor. Walking down the hall for a moment, they came to an open door. Waiting inside was Chief Bogo and a large polar bear that Nick hadn't seen before. By now, Nick had caught his breath and could finally walk without fearing that he would trip over his own feet.

"Mr. Wilde. Glad to see that you made it with plenty of time to spare," the polar bear said. "Major Friedkin, I'll be the one to put you through hell seeing that you make in into the academy." She held out a large paw, which Nick shook as best as he could.

"Pleasure's all mine. You must be the one that Officer Fluff wants me to talk to," he said with a smile.

She smiled back. "Of course, so you want to join the finest mammals the city has to offer? Fuzzy Bunny here thinks you have what it takes. Have a seat."

Nick didn't hesitate to do just that. His entire body thanked him as he climbed into the chair that was in front of the large desk inside the office. Bogo sat broodingly behind his desk, watching the exchange with a neutral face. Judy remained standing, but kept herself as close to Nick as possible.

"As I'm sure you're aware," Friedkin began. "The academy only takes the most dedicated mammals. We will require you to go beyond what you thought you were capable of and then some. Being a part of the ZPD isn't for the faint of heart. It requires you to put our ideals first every second of every day: trust, integrity, and bravery. We hold those close to our hearts. My job is to make sure that everyone who goes through the academy does the same. I'm confident that Hopps's judgement is true. The time has come to prove that."

"Wilde," Bogo said. Nick turned his attention to the buffalo. "You've shown great physical strength. It's time to prove you've got the mind to be a part of the protectors of this city."

Nick knew what it meant, and he could hardly hold back his excitement. This was what everything he'd worked for had been leading up to. Soon, his hard work would pay off. "I'm sensing an entrance exam is in my future?"

Friedkin nodded. "Exactly. In one week, you're going to go through the Academy Entrance Exam. It's a two part test, the first being a psychological evaluation to ensure you're mentally healthy and capable of performing the tasks officers have to do. The second part is going to prove to myself and everyone that you're true cop material. It will cover all of the basic material that officers will need to know and prepare you for the classes in the academy. It is quite a bit to take in all at once, but as I said before, I'm confident that Hopps is right about you." She held out a book to him, which he took. He observed the cover. 'ZPD Academy Training Manual' it read. "This will be almost everything you need to show what you're made of. I suggest hitting the books, now."

Nick looked up at Major Friedkin. "What else will I need?"

She chuckled and nodded toward Judy. "She's the last bit. Have fun studying. I look forward to seeing you in class in a month. Good luck."

Nick nodded, though turned to see Judy with the largest smile he'd ever seen on her muzzle. That single smile was all he needed. Turning back to the polar bear, he gave her a salute. "I'll see you then. Just you wait."

* * *

 **A/N: Wowie… it's been a hot second, hasn't it?**

 **As much as I would like for these author's notes to someday begin with something other than an apology, I don't really see how that is feasible for me anymore. School quickly took the top spot in things most important to me, dethroning my once frequent appearances in your update notifications. I really do want to write more, but this has, and always will be a hobby. Real life takes ultimate precedence.**

 **Now, for those who are curious about Passthrough, no it isn't on hiatus or anything, I just** _ **really**_ **don't have the time to write anymore. I only managed to pump out the rest of this chapter because of Thanksgiving break. That, and I got over some massive writer's block and finally got some inspiration.**

 **I'd like to potentially get another chapter out before the end of the year, which should be possible seeing that I don't lose interest again. I won't leave this story unfinished, I promise!**

 **Thanks so much for reading, my red-hot bois, please take care, have a great day!**

 **-Ande (still not dead, but death's cold grasp grows ever nearer. I wonder how long it will take me to break my promise to get another chapter out before the end of the year? I'd say exactly the amount of time between you reading this and the beginning of 2019.)**


	4. Put to the Test

_Scar Tissue - Chapter 4 - Put to the Test_

 _Edited by Cimar of Turalis WildeHopps_

 **Please read the author's note down below. Very important stuff that I need your input on!**

* * *

 _One Week Later_

"Nervous?"

The question came out of nowhere. Inevitable, but coming from the silence between the two, it almost made him jump. Ever since they left Nick's apartment it had been all silence. Nick was going through everything in his head from 10-codes to basic procedure for a variety of common encounters. Included in that list was even some history of the ZPD as well. He wasn't sure why that was included in the study material, but if it was in the manual, he probably needed to know it.

Nick shrugged. "Not really. I'm confident this is going to go just fine."

That was an outright lie. He was incredibly nervous about this. Sure, he studied his tail off and _was_ confident that he would pass, but a good test taker was something Nick was not. He could talk his way out of almost any situation, but passing a test didn't come quite as easily.

Each step they took closer to the ZPD made his heart beat even faster. His breath became a little shakier with each step and his paws stayed shoved as deep into his pockets as they could go. Out of the corner of his eye, Judy looked up at him, smiled and looked in front of them.

"Whatever you say," she jabbed. He knew it was obvious how nervous he was. This was the only thing standing in the way of him getting into the academy, and if he messed up, he would never hear the end of it from Judy, and he would not be able to live with himself either. He could never imagine disappointing her and just the thought of letting her down was one of his biggest fears, and not only because of how much she'd done to help him prepare. "Look," she said. "I know that this is a huge thing for you. Just stay calm and use that big brain of yours. I've been rooting for you the whole time."

Just then, the two of them stopped as they arrived in front of the ZPD, it's massive structure looming over them in the early morning sunlight. Nick closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. His nerves calmed, and as he opened his eyes a smile crept onto his muzzle. He looked at Judy. "I've got this," he said. Judy smiled as they both wrapped each other up in a tight hug. A proud smile found its way onto Judy's face as she held onto him.

"I believe in you." The two separated and together they entered the ZPD. Waiting inside was Major Friedkin, as well as a gold-furred jackal that he didn't recognize. Nick and Judy approached them, and the massive polar bear gave a polite smile.

"Well, Mr. Wilde, I'm sure Fuzzy Bunny, here, has you all prepared for today?"

Nick nodded. "Absolutely. I'm rearin' and ready to go!"

Friedkin let out a tiny chuckle. "I'm glad to hear it, Foxtrot. Follow us and we'll begin the first part of your test."

Nick looked to Judy, who offered a fist bump right before they went their separate ways. Nick followed next to the jackal, who had yet to speak a word, but Nick figured this was going to be the mammal conducting the psychological evaluation. Just seconds after that thought came into his head, they arrived at a room deep into the halls of the ZPD.

"Mr. Wilde," she said. "I'm Dr. Jayme Moore. Care to step into this room for a moment?"

Nick offered a polite smile, though he had to admit he was slightly nervous about it. He entered the small, mostly bare room. A small table with two chairs facing each other sat in the middle. He noticed a couple of plants in the corners and a small painting hung on the far wall. Dr. Moore gestured to one of the chairs and Nick took a seat without question while she took the chair opposite him.

"I have the pleasure of meeting with many of the potential recruits and conducting a short mental health evaluation. It's nothing to be worried about. I'll only ask a few questions. A more complete evaluation will be done seeing that you pass the entrance exam. Ok?"

Nick nodded. "Seems pretty straightforward."

"Perfect," Dr. Moore said. "Alright, so, in the last six months have you experienced any sort of traumatic event? Death of a loved one? Accident? Anything like that?"

Nick thought for a second, then remembered one event that fit pretty accurately. "Well, I was involved with the Nighthowler case. I helped Officer Hopps with some of the more… daring tasks involved with solving that."

Dr. Moore jotted a few things down on a sheet of paper and nodded. "Ok, could you elaborate on that a little more?"

Nick scratched the back of his neck. "Well, it was mostly the whole train explosion and trying to not die part that kinda freaked me out. It all ended fine, but for a bit there I was worried something bad could've happened."

She wrote some more. "And this event, do you find yourself thinking about it often?"

"No," he stated. "Maybe once or twice since it happened."

"Ok, and now, for a little more general things. Is there anything that has ever happened to cause you depression, thoughts of hurting yourself, others, or to cause you to have suicidal thoughts or tendencies?"

His mind tried to bring him back to his early days of hustling, the feelings that he felt back then. The way that his life had changed for the better in so short a time. He thought about the good while trying to block out the bad. One thing kept coming back to him, but ultimately he decided it wasn't exactly worth mentioning. Everything that he felt back then was long past and no longer affected him.

Nick shook his head. "Nope. Nothing at all," he said coolly. Dr. Moore jotted a few more things down before looking up at him.

"Ok, have you or any member of your family ever been diagnosed with schizophrenia, or declared mentally incompetent?"

Nick pondered for a moment. "My uncle thought he was St. Jerome…"

"I'd call that a big yes," she said, taking the time to write down something rather lengthy. "Are you habitually using any drugs, stimulants, alcohol?"

"Nope."

"Alright, that's everything I've got for you. Nothing shoots up any red flags immediately, so that's a good thing. You can wait here as your test will be taken in this room. Shouldn't be more than a few minutes before the officiants arrive."

Nick thanked her before she exited the room and left him all alone. As he waited in silence, Nick ran through all of the information he'd spent the last week studying all day and night, sometimes staying up well into the early hours of the next day. As he mentally prepared himself, Nick took in one deep breath and let it out long and slow, taking all of his anxiety and relieving himself of all that was going through his mind. Thoughts of failing escaped him, only leaving behind the positive, the situation where he passed and made Judy proud. In years to pass, he would remember this time in his life as one of his proudest achievements. He thought about how happy Judy would be and the smile she would have. Thinking about her put a smile on his own face.

A gentle knock on the door took his mind away from those pleasant things and he brought his attention to the mammals who entered the room. Two in total, a tall and lanky wolf and a hunched-over badger that caught his attention the most. "Mr. Nicholas P. Wilde, a pleasure to meet you," the wolf said, stretching his large paw across the table. Nick stood up and shook it, smiling as he sat back down. The wolf sat directly in front of him while the badger, who held what Nick presumed to be the test, stood silently by the table. "We are going to be your officiants today. Very quickly, we will go through the rules of the test and make sure that you understand everything. As long as you're ready?"

Nick gave a sharp nod. "Ready as I'll ever be."

The wolf chuckled. "I like that." He gestured for the badger to give Nick the test, as well as a neatly sharpened and brand-new number two pencil. As it was placed in front of him, she offered a crooked smile before taking a seat away from the table, near the left corner of the room.

"So," the wolf continued. "This test consists of one hundred multiple choice questions worth one point each. Make sure to select the best answer. There will also be several true or false questions within the multiple choice. Remember, if the statement is not one hundred percent true, well… you know what to do. After you have completed the multiple choice section, you will have an essay question. This question is going to give you a common situation that police officers would encounter, and you must explain the actions you would take, as well as explain why you would do what you would do. Be sure to take time to go over the test after you have finished it, as all answers are final and there is no opportunity for you to refute. The allowed time for this test is two hours from the moment you break the seal. We will let you know when you have thirty minutes left. Do you understand?"

Nick couldn't help but be reminded of the last time he'd taken a test all the way back when he was in his last final of high school. Though _that_ test didn't go too well, he also didn't study for it.

This was going to be different.

"I understand."

"Good. You may begin."

Nick lifted the side of the test and broke the seal that previously prevented it from being opened. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the badger start a timer. He flipped over the page and began the test that would ultimately decide whether his life would truly begin changing.

* * *

 _Later That Day…_

"Uggghh…"

A bunny forehead slammed on the desk with an impressive thump. From above her cubicle, a cougar head popped over the divide and smiled.

"Rough day, there, bunny cop?" she asked with a slight giggle. Judy turned her head over, keeping it resting on her desk, only giving the cougar a death glare in response. She backed up slightly, and the smirk fell right off.

Officer Carley Gilmore had become Judy's desk neighbor not long before the bunny had quit the force. The cougar was a transfer from Precinct 3 and had been in the academy class ahead of Judy. The two shared a bond of coworkers and nothing more, though neither of them was afraid of throwing a playful jab at each other here and there. "I'll take that as a yes?"

"You know how bunnies have lots of energy, right?" Judy asked rhetorically.

"I don't know that I did, please tell me more!" Carley responded, words laced with a healthy dose of sarcasm. Judy rolled her eyes, but couldn't help but crack a smile.

"I can't stand being stuck at this desk and in this office all day!" she exclaimed, righting herself and leaning back in her chair. "I've gotta get out! Move around! If I don't get back to regular duty soon I swear I'm going to explode!"

"Don't you already exercise?"

"If by exercise you mean my physical therapy, then yes. I can't push myself too hard otherwise I'd just hurt myself even more. Sure, I run a little bit, but not _nearly_ as much as I used to."

"Well, I can't help you, there. Cut down on any or all caffeine?"

"All of it."

The cougar hissed. "That's rough, Hopps. How much longer you got before you can get back to the beat?"

"One more week," she responded with a long, drawn-out sigh.

"That's it?" Carley said. "You really think you need to be that careful? I would have gotten back into the swing of things way before you did. Can't you just tell Bogo you're ready to go again?"

Judy shook her head. "I need confirmation from my physical therapist that I'm strong enough before Bogo will let me. Next week when I go to my appointment, I should hopefully be good to go. I've just been so stressed, recently. It also doesn't help that I still haven't found a good apartment yet. I definitely don't want to live in something like my last one."

"Oh, Lord… what was that like?"

"It was basically a box, and I'm pretty sure the walls were made of cardboard. I think the bed was, too."

"And you lived in that? And you were ok with it?" Carley exclaimed.

"I was new to the city!" Judy responded. "Everything about it was wonderful the first day!"

Carley laughed and shook her head. "Ok, but where have you been staying, then? Surely not on the streets, I hope!"

"No," Judy began. "My good friend Nick took me in until I could find a place on my own."

Carley looked at her inquisitively. "'Good friend' you say? Tell me more, is he _hot_? Do you think he's hot? What's he like under the shee-"

Judy slammed a paw on the cubicle wall, a massive blush rising in her ears as Carley laughed. "Oh my God, it's nothing like that! I don't need those images in my head!" Judy shouted as she searched in her mind for a way to change the subject quickly before she started thinking of what Carley said of Nick beneath the sheets…

Her blush rose faster. _Oh, sweet cheese and crackers!_

"He actually took his entrance exam for the Academy today," Judy finally spluttered out "I really hope he did well."

Carley raised an eyebrow. "He's trying to join the force? Wonder who convinced him to do that?"

"I might have had a bit of an influence on that decision," Judy chuckled. "He helped me out with the Nighthowler case, and I thought he did a pretty good job. He's also worked his tail off preparing for the academy the last few weeks."

"Ah, so this is the fox that helped you," Carley said. "What's it like living with him? I would think it would be pretty awkward considering you're a bunny and he's… well, you know…"

"Oh, no! It's not awkward at all! We're good friends and he's been kinda fun to live with. Although I am gonna be glad once I get a place of my own. I've lived with more than two hundred others almost my entire life so I enjoy privacy when I can get it."

"Wow, you bunnies really do multiply quickly…"

"Shut up," Judy said with a smile. She brought her attention back to her computer for a moment, clicked on a few things and then signed out. "Well, I need to turn in this report and then I'm off for the day. See you on Monday, Carley!"

"See, ya, Hopps!"

Judy weaved her way through the cubicles until she arrived at the large printer, picked up her document, and walked downstairs. Strolling into a large room filled with several filing cabinets, she had to leap up to grab the handle and open the one she needed. Quickly inserted the document into the correct one, she let herself gently down before jumping once more to shut the file cabinet. Her leg felt good and no pain came from the moves, making her mood even brighter as she then made her way out of the building.

Walking towards Nick's apartment, she smiled as she awaited the chance to talk to Nick about the exam and how it went. It only came to her a couple of times that day, but even that seemed to be a bit much for her. She shouldn't have been so worried about him, but she couldn't help it. Nick wanted to join the force, and she was just as hopeful that he would be able to as well. She knew there was the chance they might not get assigned as partners, seeing that he made it on the force, but even still, she could live with that. All she wanted was for him to reap the rewards of his hard work that he'd put forth, and continue to put forth.

Though being his partner would be the ideal situation, and the one she was most hopeful for.

After the short walk to Nick's apartment, she sped up the stairs and pulled out her key. Unlocking the door, she came inside to a silent space. Judy looked around the corner into the kitchen and saw nothing. Tiptoeing into the living room, she came across Nick asleep on the couch, blanket half covering him, half on the floor. Seeing the opportunity of a lifetime, she pulled out her phone and opened up Snoutchat. She donned a devilish grin before she knelt down beside him and smiled for the picture. Right as it was taken, two fox fingers appeared right above her head.

"Saw your ears weren't in the picture, so I gave you some," Nick whispered as he sat up and rubbed his eyes while Judy sighed at the lost opportunity. "Home already?"

"It is almost half past five, Nick. What are you doing taking a nap?" she scolded.

"Well," he began. "After the test, I went to the gym, got in a pretty intense leg day. Then I went grocery shopping, and before you ask, yes, I did get you a pint of that carrot flavored ice cream you like so much. After that, I came home and paid the rent for this month, you're welcome. I cleaned the bathroom, made _your_ bed as well as my own, then I decided to watch a bit of TV, but ultimately I figured I would rather rest my eyes for a little while and that was… forty-five minutes ago. So I'd say I had a pretty productive day, how about you?" he finished with a smile.

Judy pushed his muzzle away and took a seat on the couch next to him. "So, how do you think the test went?"

Nick shrugged. "Who's to say? It didn't seem hard, save for a few questions. Other than that, I have a pretty good feeling about it all. Nothing to be worried about."

Judy let out a sigh of relief. "That's good. I know after I took it I was terrified that I messed up. I ended up with a 94 on it, so I didn't have anything to be worried about. The lowest they take on it is an 80 if I'm not mistaken."

"How long did it take you to get the results back?" he asked.

"Oh, only a couple of days. You should get something in the mail on Monday, Tuesday at the latest."

"That's good," Nick said, pulling the lever to recline his seat. "I half expected it to be a week or two before I got the results."

"Well, you are one of the last potential Academy attendees, I don't imagine they are going to have much else to do regarding going over the entrance exams." The two sat in silence for a while. Nick pulled out his phone and flipped through its various screens for a few seconds before becoming bored with it and setting it on the table next to him. Judy leaned back into the couch a little and rested her body. Though she had loads of energy, her body ached after a long week and her eyes burned after staring at a computer screen the whole time.

"So…" Nick began. "What do you want to do tonight?"

Judy quickly shrugged her shoulders. "I dunno. We could watch a movie, I guess."

More silence filled the air before Nick remembered one thing. "Hey, you know John Moolaney released a new special, right?"

Judy looked at him with a mixture of excitement and confusion. "I had no idea! Is it on Zoolu?"

"Yeah, I would think so. Why don't we watch that?"

"I'll get the popcorn!"

Judy zoomed off the couch and into the kitchen, excited beyond belief to get to watch the new special. After the first night she stayed, Nick decided to check out some of Moolaney's other acts and found out that he, too, really liked the whitetail comedian. It became a bit of a thing, watching stand-up late at night. Though the sun still shone and she hadn't even had dinner yet, she couldn't wait.

While the popcorn popped in the microwave, Judy went back into the living room, seeing Nick already had the special pulled up and ready to watch. "Wait till the popcorn's done. I don't want to miss anything!"

Nick chuckled. "Alrighty. You seem a bit too excited about this."

"It's been a long week, Nick. I need something to take my mind off of it all."

Just then, Judy heard the microwave beep. With ears upright, she bolted into the kitchen and put the hot, steaming popcorn into a large bowl and raced back to the couch. She set the bowl carefully next to Nick, who grabbed a pawful as she sat down. Nick started the special and the two glued their eyes to the television screen.

As the special continued, both of them laughed and enjoyed themselves and the delicious, buttery popcorn. About half-way through, Judy still had her eyes focused solely on the TV, aimlessly reaching her paw into the bowl for more popcorn. On one of those occasions, Nick had done the same thing, reaching his paw without even bothering to look.

Judy, expecting to grab the popcorn, instead found herself a pawful of Nick's paw. At that moment, she no longer heard what was being said on the TV. She looked over and saw Nick, just now realizing what had touched his paw. Though she really wanted more popcorn, she kept her paw on his for a long second and giggled. Before she could move her paw, Nick almost seemed to flinch and quickly remove his from the bowl.

"Sorry, not really watching where I'm aiming." She stuffed her mouth with her snack and brought her attention back to the special, and Nick did the same. She was glad that her ears were not aimed at Nick because if he could see them, he would surely notice the red tint they had.

After it was all over Judy was actually feeling somewhat tired, and definitely not hungry.

"Honestly," she began. "That is my new favorite of his! I don't know how he comes up with some of that!"

"It's in our DNA, Carrots. Being funny just comes naturally to us."

Judy looked at Nick skeptically. "I'm sorry, what do you mean by 'us', exactly?"

Nick waved a paw in the air. "Funny mammals." Judy gave him narrow eyes and a shake of the head. "What? You mean to tell me you don't like my sense of humor?"

"I wouldn't call 'puns' much of a sense of humor. Believe me, you wouldn't last a minute on stage using those!"

"One of these days, Carrots. One of these days you'll be proven wrong."

Judy just laughed it off. "I'd like to see you try."

" _Try_ me, sweetheart."

"Alright, that one wasn't even clever!" Nick simply looked at her and shook his head, though kept a grin on his face all the while. "Well," she began. "I'm honestly pretty beat. I might just have to go to bed extra early tonight."

Nick looked at the clock. "It's seven o'clock. You really want to go to bed now?"

"Not right at this moment," she said. "I'll get a bit of reading in and _then_ go to bed." Judy began the short walk to her bedroom.

"Carrots," he said, stopping Judy in her tracks.

She looked back at him. "What's up, Nick?"

The look of sincerity in his eyes had her turning entirely towards him as he spoke. "Thanks for being by my side the last few weeks. I don't think I could have done it without you," he said quietly, adding a more genuine than usual smile.

Her face lit up with pride. "I'll always be there for you. We're friends, and that's what friends are for." Judy turned back and went into her room. She hopped onto her bed and grabbed the book she'd been slowly going through for a while and opened it up. Before she read anything, she thought about how she didn't have to hesitate to say what she said to Nick. It was the truth and nothing but the truth. She would never abandon Nick, no matter what.

* * *

 _Monday 6:21 PM_

As Judy pulled her favorite green bean casserole out of the oven, she heard some rapid thumping coming from outside the apartment. She thought nothing of it, figuring it was just one of the neighbors in a hurry to get to their door. That thought was soon changed when the door burst open and she nearly dropped her and Nick's dinner.

Nick flew into the kitchen past her with a pawful of mail. She'd known he went down to get it, and now she could guess pretty accurately what had arrived.

"It's here!" Nick shouted as he threw the small pile onto the table. Judy quickly set down the casserole, took off her oven mitts and ran next to him.

"What are you waiting for?" she asked directly. "Open it up!"

Nick opened up the letter and pulled out the folded note inside. He read it for a little while, keeping it out of Judy's sight. She tried to see what it said, but Nick lifted it high enough that she wouldn't be able to read it. "C'mon, Nick! What does it say?"

He lifted his head from the letter. "Guess who needs to pack his bags?" he said quietly.

"YESSS!" Judy shouted as she jumped up and tackled Nick with a hug of monstrous proportions.

He wobbled backward for a second before regaining his balance. "Ok, Carrots. You can let me breathe," he said, struggling to get the words out.

She apologized and got off of him. "This is great! What did you get on the exam?"

Nick gave her a nervous smile. "You're not gonna like this…"

She lost her smile, replacing it with a serious frown. "Nick, give me that letter, _now._ "

She grabbed the paper from his paw and her eyes scoured the page until she saw where the exam score was posted. Her eyes grew to the size of saucers when she saw his score.

"In your face!" he shouted, pointing a finger directly at her and laughing.

Judy looked back at the paper and back at Nick, wondering if she was just seeing things. "A ninety-seven?! You got a ninety-seven?! Are you serious?" She looked at him, flabbergasted as Nick continued to laugh and point at her. "You're never going to let me forget this, are you?"

Nick wiped away a tear from his eye. "Nope."

"But, hey," she said. "I'm proud of you! There was nothing to worry about, just like I said!"

With pride abundant in her eyes, Judy opened her arms once again and invited Nick for a hug.

And Nick happily obliged.

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for bearing with me! Though this wasn't before the end of the year, this was** _ **pretty**_ **darn close! I could have gotten it out a day earlier, but I hadn't gotten another set of eyes on it. I need it to be as good as it can be!**

 **So with Nick being accepted into the Academy, there is only one more chapter before he actually leaves. However, I do have a bit of a favor to ask of you guys. The main plot of the story is meant to happen after Nick graduates and begins working in Precinct 1. I want to know if you guys want me to skip some of that, or go full detail on it. It won't really affect the plot (at least I don't think) but I think it would be good to show Nick's progress. Though I do want to get to the really** _ **spicy**_ **stuff (not quite what you think, just the idea I had that spawned this story!) I'm open for whatever you guys think!**

 **Hopefully, the next chapter will be out soon. My next semester is going to be pretty busy, so things are going to be a bit quiet from me in the near future. But I will try to get one more chapter out before things get too out of hand!**

 **Thanks so much for reviewing, following, and favoriting. As always, take care, have a great day!**

 **-Ande**

 **P.S. And Happy New Year! (screw you 2018)**


	5. Moving Day

_Scar Tissue - Chapter 5 - Moving Day_

 _Edited by Omnitrix 12_

* * *

 _A While Later…_

These were the days that Nick remembered as some of the happiest of his life. Sitting in the back of that old van, having a drink or two, laughing about the events of that days hustle. Being there once again was nice, though he was glad to finally be moving onto bigger and better things. Nick finished off his beer, setting the empty bottle on the floor.

"One more for ya?" Finnick asked, holding another beer in front of him.

Nick waved him off. "No thanks. I'm good. Two is enough for tonight."

"Suit ya 'self," Finnick scoffed, opening the bottle and taking a drink. "Y'don't wanna get plastered like we used to after a good day of the hustle? Those were the times, bro!"

"I can see the stains, Fin," Nick cringed. "Those are all the reminders I need. A hangover is not on my agenda."

"C'mon, Nick! We gotta have some fun before you get shipped off! Don't you wanna wake up in some alley tomorrow and not remember a thing?"

"Twice is enough for a lifetime," Nick said. "And besides, I have things to prepare for and I don't need to risk getting brought in for God-knows-what right before I'm supposed to leave for the Academy. I don't think that would look too good in the eyes of my future employer."

"You think too much! Don't think! Just do!"

"I happen to enjoy thinking!" Nick shot back. "Not thinking will get me somewhere I don't want to be."

Finnick hushed his voice. "And where you wanna be? Abandoning the best friend you've ever had?"

That certainly didn't feel the best to Nick. "Fin—"

"No! I get at least one more crazy night before that bunny turns you into someone you aren't!"

"Fin!" Nick shouted. "I'm not abandoning you! Don't even think that for a second!"

Finnick took a moment before sighing. "Really? Then why is this the first time we've seen each other in almost two months? It sure seems like you've completely forgotten about me!"

"I've given up the hustle, Fin! I can't do it anymore, I'm not the same person. But I don't want you to think that just because I'm not out there with you that I don't want to be friends! You've been my pal for years! I would never give that up."

"Sure, you say that, but how am I supposed to know that once you's a cop you ain't gonna go after me?"

"Fin—" Nick nearly choked on his own breath before bursting out in laughter. "What? You really think I would do that?"

Finnick shrugged. "I dunno, it's something I've been afraid of since you first told me about Bunny Girl and the whole cop thing."

Nick patted his friend on the back, nearly forcing the smaller fox off of the seat he was on. "There are a few mammals I would consider going after as a cop, but you are not on that list, my friend. And also, her name is Judy."

"Makes no difference t'me." The much smaller fox took a long drink from his bottle. "What's the deal with you two anyways? Ya just sorta took her in on the fly."

"She needed help," Nick said, leaning back against the wall of the van. "I have plenty of space to myself, so I figured I could lend a paw just to get her going again."

"But how much longer is she going to mooch off of you? She's been there for quite a while."

"She isn't mooching off of me," Nick explained. "But if you must know she's moving out the day after I leave for the Academy. She finally found a place of her own, thank goodness. I was beginning to wonder if she was ever going to find a decent apartment. Although I will be a bit bummed when she's gone. It was kinda nice to have a roommate for a little while."

"Why her, though?"

Nick almost flinched at the question. "What do you mean by that?" he asked.

Finnick stood up. "Why give her a second chance? I've known you for years, second chances aren't exactly your thing. She didn't go into too much detail about the things she did to you, but the way she made it sound it wasn't good."

"Wait…" Nick's ears stood on end. "When did you two talk about that? I didn't realize you two ever spoke."

Finnick sighed, finished off his beer and threw the bottle to the floor. "It was the day she went to go find you. She probably didn't tell you this, but she came to me first."

Nick's eyes widened.

"She pled with me to say where you were. All I knew was that she got to you, and I know how you get when things get to you. I tried to get her to take a hike, but she wouldn't take no for an answer. The thing that changed my mind... She needed to apologize."

"She needed to?" Nick asked.

Finnick nodded. "Her words, not mine. I could tell the bunny wasn't much of an actor," Finnick chuckled. "She didn't even bring out the water works. All she wanted to do was tell you how sorry she was for the way she treated you. I figured that was something you needed to hear."

Speechless, Nick sat against the wall, mouth hanging open. Judy hadn't told him anything like this. He didn't know how she was able to find him that day, but now that he did, he realized for the first time exactly how sorry she was.

"She searched high and low for me… she's been going above and beyond for me ever since. What did I do to deserve any of it? If it weren't for her, I wouldn't be going to the Academy in a few days! I don't get it!"

"She sees something you haven't yet," Finnick said. "Now lemme ask you somethin'. Are you sure you want to be a police officer? Because to me it sounds like you're having second thoughts."

Nick rubbed his head. "I don't know, maybe I have a little. I'm just not sure what I would do if I got there and realized that this wasn't for me."

"You won't know that unless you get out there and quit worrying about it so much." Finnick offered Nick a genuine, albeit intoxicated, smile, and Nick was happy to reciprocate.

"You're right," he replied, scratching himself behind the ear. "I've been thinking about it all too much."

Finnick nodded, leaving the two in silence for a while. Nick sighed, closing his eyes for a while as he prepared himself to get up and head back home. He stood up and brought his attention to the smaller fox. Finnick knew what he was doing and stood up as well.

"Heading back?" he asked.

Nick stretched his arms and back, getting a few pops out of it as he did. "Yeah, I probably should." Nick was just about to walk out of the van, but stopped himself. "Hey, Fin," he called.

"Yeah?"

"I don't want you to be the reason I get called to a scene nine months from now, and I sure don't want to put my best friend in pawcuffs." Nick smiled, waiting for a response.

Finnick scoffed in return. "That bunny's making a sap outta you," he muttered, and only a friend could have guessed he was half-joking. "Now get out of my van."

Nick chuckled. "See ya in nine months, buddy." As a final farewell, Nick gave his friend a lazy salute. "Hang in there," he said mockingly.

With that, Nick exited the van into the cool nighttime air. A harsh breeze blew through the city streets, causing Nick to shield his face from the wind. He walked down the deserted sidewalks for a while, each city block reminding him of something he'd done in his days of hustling. This was the area he grew up in, where he learned the art of the hustle. One place stood out in particular, the place that ultimately shaped him for years.

The small community center where he was supposed to become a Junior Ranger Scout had deteriorated over the years. Now standing abandoned, he no longer felt the pain of the past when he saw it. Especially now that he'd moved on to something even better, it no longer got to him. For quite a few years he couldn't even look at that building. That all changed, so now he smiled when he looked at the shattered glass and peeling paint. Without that, he never would have ended up where he was, and that was the greatest gift it could have given him.

Nick continued home, getting on one of the last trains of the night. Seats were abundant, and he rode in silence to his apartment. Opening the door to his home, Nick saw lights flickering in the living room. He crept into the space, seeing the TV still on and nearly muted. Lying on the couch, Judy was asleep with an empty bowl on the floor, only a few unpopped kernels left over. Nick smiled as he watched her nose twitch. He went to her room and grabbed a blanket, then draped it over her ever so gently.

He grabbed the remote and turned off the TV, taking one last glance at Judy before smiling and going off to bed.

* * *

 _Moving Day…_

"You sure you can't move in today?"

"One hundred percent."

"Have you asked?"

"People still live there, Nick."

"Are they willing to let you stay with them for a night?"

"Highly doubtful."

"So you're saying there's a chance…?"

Nick and Judy walked swiftly though the crowded station. Mammals from all over waited for their respective trains, talked on cell phones, chatted with each other, and raced to make it on time causing a roar of unintelligible chatter.

Nick walked with a small duffle bag which contained all of his belongings he would need for his time at the academy. It wasn't much, enough sets of clothes for a week, a couple books for leisure reading, and his cell phone charger. That was it besides the clothes on his back and the will to make it through hell and back a few times.

"Nick," Judy grumbled as they walked through the station. "You are making too big a deal out of this."

"Hey," he said. "Is it a crime to want to help you out with the big move?"

Judy stifled a laugh while giving Nick a gentle jab in the side. "I wouldn't exactly call it 'big'. The apartment comes furnished. I literally have all of my belongings in a duffle bag and a couple small boxes."

"It's still huge!" Nick protested. "You're back to being you! The you that I met so long ago."

"Like four months ago," she added with a smile.

"Whatever, not the point," Nick said. "We've both changed a lot in that time, this is another big step towards becoming the best version of yourself," He said with an intentionally corny smile, spreading his paws with the pads up.

"I highly doubt getting a small studio apartment with proper walls, furnishings, and plumbing is much of a step towards the best version of myself, 'Mr. Going to the Academy Literally Right Now'! This is huge, Nick! In nine months you won't even be a fraction of the mammal you are now!"

"Not sure if that's supposed to be a compliment or an insult," he pondered, giving Judy a sarcastic smirk.

"You know what I mean!" she muttered, increasing the force of her jab. "You're the one making massive strides. Let's focus on you while we can!"

Both stopped walking immediately. Nick knew what was going to happen today, and he wasn't looking forward to it. Nick was never the greatest at goodbyes, no one really was. Some people took them well, others were a complete mess. And then there was Nick who never knew what to do. Too many of them were pains he'd rather not remember.

"I think it's finally starting to sink in," Judy said quietly. "I wasn't expecting it to suck this much."

"Hey…" Nick knelt down and thought about reaching his paw out to comfort her, but at the last moment he stopped himself. "Here, let's sit and wait for the train."

The two walked a short distance over to an empty bench and they sat down. Nick put his bag on the ground by his feet. "What's going on? Why does me going to the Academy suck?"

"It's nothing, Nick," Judy mumbled, swatting the air lazily with her paw.

"'It's nothing' means 'something big' in Judy," Nick joked. "I'm only going to be gone for nine months."

"Exactly!" she responded. "That alone tells me that I have nothing to worry about. I just can't stop thinking nine months in the future where you and I will be partners and working together. I don't want to wait for that."

"Doesn't waiting make it worth all that time in the end?" he asked rhetorically. "I waited years to finally meet someone who believed in me the way you do. And let me tell you, it was absolutely worth the wait."

"Stop," she chuckled, wiping away at her eyes. "You're gonna make me cry."

Nick looked at her and said the only thing he knew would prevent her tears. "Who was the roundest knight at the round table?"

Judy looked at Nick with a confused look and sighed. "I don't know."

"Sir Cumference."

Judy's smile grew slowly. "That was terrible."

"You're smiling, though."

"I am and I hate it!" she exclaimed, bursting out into laughter. "It helps that that was a bad one, I kinda don't want to see you for a while."

Nick chuckled. "But it worked, didn't it? You're not gonna go all teary-eyed again, are you?"

"No," Judy sighed. "I'm kinda confused on how to feel about you leaving. I'm really excited for you, but it's going to be so boring back here without you! All I'll be doing is working and coming home to an empty apartment. I won't have someone to watch John Moolaney with!"

"Please, you've got friends at the ZPD. Just hang out with them!" Nick suggested.

Judy shrugged her shoulders. "I guess, but I thought that would be our thing!"

Nick smiled and raised an eyebrow. "Oh, so now we have a thing?"

"Not like that!" Judy swatted at Nick, who dodged her lazy attempt to hit him. "I just need these nine months to fly by and I'll be fine."

"And they will," Nick added.

They sat quietly, Nick twiddled his thumbs while Judy tapped her foot on the concrete softly as they waited. He expected the train to arrive any moment, so he stayed quiet, not wanting to get too far into a conversation right as he was about to leave. With each passing second, his heart rate seemed to increase as the weight of this moment crushed down on him. Judy was right, this was huge, and it would be a challenge, for sure. But he'd been prepared well and was ready to take it on.

"Finnick told me about the day you came back," Nick paused, letting his mind think through what he was about to say.

Judy's eyes grew noticeably larger, her previously tapping foot grinding to a halt.

"I don't hear apologies very often," Nick continued. "The one you gave to me could have been the first genuine one. It makes me feel good knowing that you felt like you needed to do it. Most times when I needed one most… it never came."

Nick looked Judy right in the eyes, and she did the same, offering a crooked smile. "I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if I didn't. You deserved it."

"You're a great friend, you know that?" Nick asked, already knowing the answer.

"Do I know that?" Judy asked, looking up as if pondering her answer. Before she could give it, however, the sound of the approaching train that would whisk Nick off to the Academy came within ear shot. Nick looked at Judy, dreading what would come in the next few minutes. He stood up and grabbed his bag with Judy following right at his side. They stopped before the train and waited for the rest of the passengers to get off. Nick set his bag back on the ground and prepared himself for the goodbye.

"You know," Nick began. "This is going to be the hardest part of going to the Academy. Saying goodbye to you for nine months."

Without saying a word, Judy wrapped her arms around him and squeezed tight. Nick froze immediately, but soon lowered his arms and pulled her closer.

"Thanks for everything, Nick," she whispered, nearly inaudible amidst the roars of the train station. Nick still heard it, and hugged a little tighter.

"I would do it all again, no questions asked," he replied quietly.

After some time, Judy began chuckling. "I don't want to let go."

"Do you want me to miss the train?" he replied. They separated and Nick offered a one last smile. "I'll see you soon." As he began walking towards the train, he looked back at Judy who stood motionless, watching him as he left. He turned back around, only a few more steps between him and a ride to the toughest challenge of his life.

"Nick!"

The shout caused him to stop immediately. He turned back around. "Yeah?" he shouted back.

Seconds of silence passed before he heard a response. "Show 'em who's boss. You've got this!"

Nick smiled and offered her a salute. "I won't let you down!"

As he walked aboard the train, a surprisingly cool blast of air hit him. He let out a deep breath and found a seat, set his bag overhead and waited for the ride to begin.

Soon enough, the doors hissed shut and he felt the train slowly begin towards his destination. Nick watched out the window where Judy still stood waving to him. He winked and waved back, and he could tell that she giggled by the way her smile grew even larger.

Now out of the station and on his way to the ZPA, Nick leaned back in his seat, closed his eyes and eagerly awaited life's next big moments amidst the mammals he would soon learn to call family. Yet despite the excitement, one bright-eyed bunny stuck with those thoughts. She was the one he was most excited to see once his training was complete.

Even more important to him, he was only an hour train ride away from bringing his life from good to great.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey guys and gals! It's been another hot minute, but I'm glad I was finally able to get this out! Life, as usual, has been crazy busy, and I know for a fact it won't get any better any time soon. Oh well, what can you do?**

 **So, we are coming up on the chapters that reveal the reason behind the title. The next chapter is going to encompass pretty much all of Nick's time in the Academy, though it won't really go into what he actually does there. You'll see what will happen next time, but I know you guys will like it. After their pretty rough departure from each other... well, things are beginning to get more interesting ;)**

 **I hope you all enjoyed this latest installment. Please leave a review, follow and favorite if you haven't. Take care, have a great day!**

 **-Ande**


	6. Apprehension

_Scar Tissue - Chapter 6 – Apprehension_

* * *

 _Week One_

"Miss me already, Carrots?"

Nick sat all alone, phone to his ear. A cool breeze blew through his fur. The sky exploded with brilliant hues as the sun made its descent into the horizon. The clouds were spotted with pink and orange, the sky slowly becoming a deep blue and fading into black. Stars began popping into sight like little pins of light. One bunny on the other end kept him awake and attentive.

"It's been a whole week without you, of course, I do!" Judy said with jubilance. The rabbit laid on her bed, resting her chin on her paws. The phone lay in front of her on speaker. "How was the first week?" she questioned.

Nick leaned back in his chair. "I can't bend my knees without crumpling onto the floor, so now I walk with my legs fully extended. I also can't lift my arms past the top of my head. Overall, I'd call it a solid week."

Judy giggled as a smile crept onto her face. "Sounds about right. Getting along with everyone, I assume?"

"Of course," Nick reassured. "My roommate, Kevin, is a pretty cool guy. Seems like we could get along quite well. Plus, he was one of the few that didn't look at me and immediately ask if I was the fox from the news, so that's a little bonus."

"Well, that's good. I don't think you'll have issues getting along with anyone. Just gotta put some of that 'foxy charm' on them and you'll have the whole class begging to buddy up with you!" Judy giggled

"I am not putting the moves on every single classmate of mine," Nick said, donning a slight scowl.

"Only a few of them?" Judy continued, hardly holding back laughter.

Nick couldn't take it and let a grin creep onto his face. "Shut up."

"How about no," Judy said. "Anyway, did the ice wall give you any issues?"

"You know," Nick began. "The wall was my best out of all of the obstacles. I didn't make it over, but I was pretty close."

"Claws help with that?" Judy asked.

"Yeah, they at least gave me _a little_ traction. I have no idea how you could have ever managed to get over that thing."

"I jumped on some heads," she replied candidly. "Didn't make those mammals very happy, but Friedkin seemed to like my ingenuity."

Nick laughed. "I should have imagined someone as spring-loaded as you would do that."

"Spring-loaded, huh?" Judy queried. "So, overall, you're feeling pretty good?" she said, changing the subject.

"If by good you mean broken, then absolutely, one-hundred percent."

"We're all a little broken," Judy said. "You just happen to be _a lot_ more broken than some."

Nick froze in place. "You have no idea how right you are, Carrots. I hurt in places I didn't know I _could_ hurt," he smiled.

"The pain won't go away, you just learn to ignore it," she replied. "Hey, I know this is a way down the road, but I should be able to get out there around your mid-term break. It's all dependent on how busy things get around then, but I hope I can."

"I hope so, too." Nick paused before continuing. "You're the best, Judy."

"Do I know that?" She remained quiet for a moment before answering her question. "Yes, yes I do," she said with a smile. "Now I know you have lots to do. Have a good night, Nick."

He smiled and hesitated before sending his reply. "Goodnight, Carrots. Talk to you soon."

* * *

 _Week Four_

Across the expanse of an open field of freshly cut grass, twenty-six remaining mammals ran from one end to the other and back again at the whims of a rough and tough polar bear.

"Pick up the pace, cadets!" Major Friedkin shouted, those near her cringing in pain. "Don't let a little bunny show you how this is done. You're almost done! Don't slow down!"

Amid the crowd, Nick eased his way through this exercise. Running was no more than something boring he had to do. Months before, this was the bane of his existence, but all the training Judy helped him through brought something out in him. He enjoyed running now that it was the easiest thing he had to do. Compared to the obstacle courses and sparring matches, this was a jog in the park.

Friedkin eyed the red fox as he passed by her, narrowing her gaze as Nick offered a quick salute and a cheeky smile.

"You don't look very tired, Foxtrot! Pick it up, move it!" she howled at him.

"Gotta beat good ol' Fuzzy Bunny, right?" he responded, then pushed even harder, passing several mammals. One such mammal was a fishing cat by the name of Kevin DePaw, Nick's roommate and friend of a few weeks. Coming up from behind, Nick prepared to offer a warning.

The fishing cat looked behind him, scowl present and eyes narrowed "Don't say it! Don't you say it!"

"On your left," Nick said amidst a fury of short breaths, passing by Kevin.

"C'mon!" he shouted, picking up his speed and chasing down the blur of red that passed him. Nick laughed and slowed down a bit, allowing Kevin to catch up. "You know I hate that!" he scolded.

"What? Me showing you up. I thought you were supposed to be prepared for this!" Nick shot back.

"Ok, then," Kevin laughed. "I'll still kick your ass at the ice wall day or night!"

"And the ropes. You don't need to remind me!" the fox fired back. Nick looked behind them when he realized that they'd gotten further ahead than anticipated, and both knew to slow down just a little more. Just as they slowed down, however, Friedkin's bellow nearly burst their eardrums.

"Alright, cadets! Take five then get your behinds out of my sight! Tomorrow we've got time trials, so get some rest!"

The once large group split into several small groups, some leaving immediately, some continuing the run, and some taking a break and stretching. Nick and Kevin fell into the latter group, keeping to just themselves.

"Figures," the fishing cat began. "I knew that was coming the moment she said it was going to be a lighter day." Kevin dropped to the grass, stretching his legs.

Nick watched his friend while he stood, focusing on stretching his upper body. "Should be a good time. I've been looking forward to my first properly timed run on each course," he said.

"So have I," Kevin butted in. "I just really don't want to embarrass you too much, that's all," he finished with a cheeky grin.

Nick smiled and shook his head. "The only thing that's going to embarrass me is Judy's ice wall record." The red fox shuddered thinking about how much further he has before getting anywhere close to that record.

"That'll embarrass everyone, Nick. Friedkin won't let us forget, too," Kevin added. The two of them finished stretching and headed off towards the dorms. They walked in silence for some time, both needing a bit to catch their breath.

"Hey, Nick," Kevin said.

"Yeah?"

"We're friends, right?"

Nick looked curiously at the cat. "Y-yeah. Got something on your mind?"

"It's just… well… you talk a lot about Judy. I know a little bit about her and that whole conspiracy with Bellwether. I know you played a role in helping her with that, but…" Kevin looked down and scratched the back of his neck. "And I mean absolutely no disrespect with this… why exactly are you here? You must admit there were going to be some people who would question the motives of a fox wanting to join the ZPD."

Nick took a moment to process what he'd said. He knew it was inevitable before someone asked him _that_ question. Nick's paw found Kevin's shoulder, and he gave it a gentle pat. "It's an honest question, buddy. I've known you for a short amount of time, but I can tell you're a genuine guy. Honestly, I'm still trying to figure out exactly why I'm here. I want to be a better person, though. I never really had any dreams when I was little, so by the time I was on my own, I did whatever I wanted and that led me to a life with no direction. Judy helped me see that I had a lot of potential. The first time she joked about me being a cop," Nick paused to chuckle at the memory. "That's all I thought it was until she handed me an application form."

"I guess, I only mention this because I've heard talk from some of the others. Nothing I would worry about, just stupid locker room rumors."

"That's all they'll ever be. They hardly know who I am, so why would I let their opinions bother me?" Nick said. "Before I left, I told Judy I would do my absolute best; she knows why I'm here and what I want to become. I don't plan on breaking that promise I made."

"Just be glad you have someone at home rooting for you," Kevin mentioned.

"You don't?" Nick asked.

"Well, not exactly. My girl wasn't super excited about my sudden career change. She's a worrier, always has been. But I love her to death. She's my everything." Kevin looked Nick in the eyes. "You got anyone like that? I haven't heard you talking about any vixen you've been chasing," he smiled.

Nick chuckled. "Nope, it's just me. I mean, Judy is the only one who wants me to be here. My buddy Finnick basically hates my guts for leaving him in the dust. We were partners in crime… a bit literally. I think he's just been giving me a hard time about it all, though."

"Ah, that's what friends are for. Seems to me like Judy enjoys giving you a hard time, too."

"I think having her live with me made that even worse. She's gotten quicker with her quips."

"Kinda funny, don't you think?" Kevin said. "A fox such as yourself being such good friends with her considering how you two met."

"And not to mention the whole 'foxes and rabbits being mortal enemies' thing," Nick said. "Looking back, I never would have seen this as a potential future of mine. But I think this is about as good as it can get. She's back to doing what she loves, and I'm… well… getting there."

For a moment, Nick and Kevin walked in silence until Kevin's prior question came back to the fox.

"Since you mention it," Nick began. "What are _you_ doing here?"

Kevin smiled as he thought of his answer. "My dad was a sheriff in the small town I grew up in. He's the best person I've ever known, and I've always wanted to be like him. He was really excited about me getting here."

Nick put on a smile and wrapped his arm around Kevin. "Sounds to me like you've got all the reason in the world to be here."

Kevin laughed and wriggled himself out of Nick's arm. "And I think you'll figure it out soon enough."

Perhaps he didn't know exactly why he was doing what he was doing. Of course, he wanted to be exactly where he was, there was no doubt about it. Yet, in his head, he felt there should have been something else that would keep him going. For the moment, all he had was the last words Judy said to him and his desire to become something better. Even if he couldn't see it yet, he had an idea that he would know in time.

Nick pointed his muzzle skyward, closing his eyes. He took a deep breath of fresh air and donned a gentle smile. "Maybe I will."

* * *

 _Week 14 - Zootopia_

"Another glass?"

Carley gave a swift nod of her head and offered the mostly empty glass of wine to Judy. She took them and was back within the minute. Judy carefully set her's down on the end table and then took a seat.

The cougar took a sip. "You know, I think you got a pretty great deal on this place considering where you were before this."

"Oh, absolutely," Judy acknowledged. "I have a private _bathroom_ now! It's livable!" Her mind was immediately brought back to that single room apartment with paper-thin walls, communal bathroom and kitchen, and not to mention her nosey, obnoxious neighbors. Her new place was a few steps above, for sure.

"I would go further than that, Hopps!" Carley exclaimed. "I'm jealous! This apartment is gorgeous! Did you do the furnishings yourself?"

"Nope," Judy said with a smug grin. "It came furnished pretty much exactly as it is. Plus, its rent-controlled, so you wouldn't believe what I pay."

"I don't even wanna hear it," Carley said, waving a paw.

Judy smiled, taking a delicate sip. "No, you don't."

Silence ruled over them for some time. Judy noticed Carley continued to admire the furnishings and decor of the living room. She looked the same the day she moved in, though after the few months she'd been living here, she didn't think it was all very necessary. Sure, it looked very nice and she paid hardly more for it than her old place, but simplicity was a part of who she was. Growing up, she never had a fancy place to live. Her burrow was functional, efficient, and most of all, home. She'd almost passed the place up because it _was_ flashier than she was used to, though it was beginning to grow on her.

"So, how's Nick been doing?"

Black-tipped ears shot up immediately upon hearing that name. A small part of her wanted to avoid talking about him throughout the evening because of how much he was on her mind. She would be worried about him one moment, then the next she'd be thinking about how great he's been doing. Not only was he on her mind constantly, but it also seemed to be the only thing she could talk about, too.

"Oh, Nick? I don't know, haven't talked to him in a while." She forcefully lowered her ears to hide their ever-deepening blush. Hoping Carley didn't notice, she took a long drink and decided to admire the carpet for a while.

"Right, you expect me to believe that?" Carley interrogated.

"I guess it's no secret," Judy sighed, keeping a noticeable smile as she continued to avoid eye contact. "I _do_ talk to him a lot. I just want to know how things are going for him."

"So… how _are_ things going for him?"

"Semester finals are in full force," she cringed. "I haven't called him since last Tuesday. I want him to focus all his energy on tests. When I was at the Academy, I called my parents every day during finals. Kinda took my focus away from it all."

"But, hey, you were top of your class, obviously that didn't affect the outcome."

"Yeah…" Judy shrugged, taking a moment and thinking about the last time she saw him. It was one of the most difficult moments she'd faced since the Nighthowler incident. "I don't know… I feel like he might not be having as much fun as he says he is."

The room went dead silent for what felt like an eternity but was only a few seconds. Carley's face drooped like she'd received terrible news. "What makes you say that?"

"Nick… doesn't like to say a whole lot about his feelings. I lived with him for two months, and in that time, he never really opened up to me about anything. Even when I was training him, no matter how much pain he was in, he never wanted to tell me that he _was_ in pain. He's impossible to read, almost like he doesn't have emotions at all. What if his heart isn't really in it?"

Carley looked sincerely at Judy and wrapped her arm around the bunny. "I keep feeling like I forced him into this life," she continued. "It was my dream ever since I was a little girl to be a police officer, but he doesn't have that motivation."

Judy looked up at her friend to see a smiling face. "Without realizing it, you've given him all the motivation he needs to make it. If this wasn't what he wanted to do, I don't think he would be putting himself through hell. And if you don't believe me, call him first thing tomorrow morning."

Judy paused, looked down at the floor and moved her gaze in line with Carley's. "No, you're right. I'm overreacting." Her smile widened. "I don't think I could force him to do something he didn't want to unless I had another Nighthowler case to solve."

"Sounds to me like I just gave some pretty serious relationship advice," Carley chuckled.

There it was. The word she'd always thought would never be used to describe her and Nick. Judy's features steeled as she went completely still and silent, once again making sure to avoid eye contact with Carley, who seemed to be oblivious to her friend's sudden change in behavior. "I mean, you two are tremendously close, so I guess it makes sense."

Her blush rose like the face of a cliff. "W-what makes s-sense?"

"You and Nick," Carley stated.

 _Sweet cheese and crackers!_

"You're really good friends," the cougar continued. "It was only a matter of time before you would eventually have a bit of a bump in the road. I mean, this whole thing has been rough for you. You've been feeling like this might damage your friendship with him, like he might resent you for some reason.

"Haha… y-yep. That _must_ be it!" Judy finished her glass.

"And one more follow-up question," Carley narrowed her eyes, pulling Judy's gaze directly in line with hers.

"How long have you been in love with Nick?"

She had to compose herself. To get herself out of this, she would have to think like Nick; don't let her see that she got to her. All she had to do was cleverly lie her way out of this.

 _I'm just going to calmly tell her that she's being crazy. There is no way…_

"I'm in love with him!"

 _Nice one, Hopps…_

"Oh my God, Judy…" Carley set her glass on the end table. "Are you serious? Because I was expecting… well… the exact opposite response."

"Did I say I was in love with Nick?" Judy paused and briefly looked away. "Because I… meant to say I _wasn't_ in love with him. Yeah! That's right!"

"So, you love him?"

"No… Yes!"

"Yes?"

"No!"

"No?"

"I… I don't know…"

"You don't know?"

"Y… yes?"

A paw made its way to Carley's brow, and she rubbed it, trying her best to make sense of what she'd just heard. "Judy, I am going to ask you this as clearly as possible. Do you love Nick?"

Pretty soon, Judy was doing the same brow-rubbing as she took a moment to think about it. "I mean, yes, I _do_ love him. He's my best friend. I would do anything for him! Once he left, I finally started to realize that I was thinking of Nick as more than just my friend. But I just can't do it. I couldn't possibly tell him how I feel; I know it would make things awkward between us. He is going to be my partner once he graduates, I wouldn't want that to complicate things."

"Please, how would that complicate things?" Carley asked.

"Think about it. What if you and Archie were dating? Wouldn't that be weird?"

Carley almost spat out her wine. "Me and Archie? Absolutely not!"

"So, you get my point," Judy interrupted.

"It would be weird because he and I aren't attracted to each other." Carley finished. "He's a complete goofball, while I'm much more… reserved, I guess."

Judy understood. Those two worked well together, but their personalities weren't compatible whatsoever. Her and Nick, on the other paw, somehow were able to work well together despite being so different. To her, their differences made them that much better together. As she continued to think more about the situation, one other thing came to mind.

"But you don't think it would be weird even though he's… you know?"

Carley's face switched to a rather pained expression. "Oh…" She paused. "Is that what's been stopping you?"

"I-I don't know. Part of me wants to just tell him everything, but the rest of me wonders if he would feel the same way. He doesn't seem to be into the whole 'relationship' thing. At least, not with me, I guess…" She felt the tears threatening to well up in her eyes. Her body began to mildly shake as she fought them, hoping her friend wouldn't see how badly this was affecting her.

"C'mon, Judy," a tender, consoling paw found its way to Judy's back. "What gave you that idea? I think if he really cares about you like you say he does, he would be open to the possibility."

"He…" the bunny almost couldn't say her next words. "He told me not to fall in love, that I would only get hurt."

Carley sat and listened while Judy told her the story from the night she moved in with Nick. She started from the very beginning, right after Bellwether was arrested, to how Nick let her stay with him, to the first time they watched John Moolaney together and the bit about marriage. She told her that once Nick closed the door on them ever having something more than friendship, all she wanted to do was get out of his apartment as quickly as possible.

"I thought if I could manage without him, all of my feelings for him would just… disappear. I tried everything to distract myself from him, but those feelings never went away. I don't think it helps that I couldn't find this place until he was already leaving. But it's been almost five months I've been away from him, and I still feel the same way."

"There isn't an off switch for those feelings," Carley said. "They haven't gone away because they just won't."

"Why? I _don't want_ these feelings!" Judy nearly shouted, causing Carley to inch backward. "I want to live my life… unhindered by something like this! When I left home, falling in love with someone I couldn't have wasn't in my plan. I don't know, call it selfish, but I've always been alone, and that's the way I intend to keep it."

"I don't think you believe yourself, Judy." Carley crossed her arms and steeled her features. "You say you want to be alone yet think about how much you want to see him. You've been in _agony_ these past months because you haven't been able to see him. You call him so much because you care about him _that_ much! Why are you so scared of taking one step toward what could be a lifetime of happiness with someone you love?"

"I don't know! I'm terrified that down the road we find out it's not meant to be and then we're left asking 'how did we get here?'. I don't want that to happen."

"Well, I'm not going to tell you what to do, but think about this: Love's never come my way. I would give anything to meet 'the one' tomorrow. For you, he could be a call and an hour and a half train ride away."

"It's not that simple, Carley. I don't think he likes me that way. We're good as friends, that's all the further I want things to go."

"Ok, let me put things this way. It's kinda late at night, you've had a few glasses of wine and are ready to call it a night. Your phone rings, you see that it's Nick. When you answer he asks if you want to come over."

Carley pointed a digit directly at Judy.

"What do you do? Go."

"I do nothing," she said without hesitation. "At least… I'm not going to do anything right now. Things between us are great; I don't want to bring this up and potentially make things awkward. If this is supposed to happen, it will. I don't want to force it."

"Alright, then," Carley sighed. "I'm just telling you to tread lightly. If you're too cautious, you might end up being too late." The cougar checked her phone, suddenly looking surprised by the time. "Look, this is super dramatic, and I _love_ it, but it is starting to get kinda late, I should probably head home."

Carley stood up and Judy followed her to the door. Before she was about to leave, Judy spoke up once more.

"What if I were to tell him how I feel… when I see him next week…. How would I even start that conversation?" Judy stammered.

"You're asking the wrong person," Carley said, offering a shrug and a crooked half-smile. "I've never felt this way about someone before. But you know him, go with your gut." The door was opened, and Carley stepped into the hall. Before she closed it, she offered one last word.

"I hope you and Nick figure things out. I'm rooting for you two."

Judy offered a wave and a tired smile as her friend walked out of her apartment, leaving the rabbit in an eerie quiet, and all alone with her thoughts. A sigh escaped her as she picked up their empty wine glasses and brought them to the mostly full dishwasher. As she started the wash cycle, Judy couldn't help but continue to think about her situation.

She'd ran every situation through her head. The ones where Nick rejects her, the ones where he rejects her, but they are still able to live their lives like normal. Extra effort went into her imaginary successes where she and Nick began a relationship together. She wasn't terrified of other's reactions. There would be some looks, but society was well past those stages. In the months since the Nighthowler incident, inter-species relationships had become slightly more common, she'd noticed. To her, it seemed as if no one cared, but didn't go out of their ways to speak some malcontent with it all.

Her family was a different story, but even so, she'd noticed a difference in her parents, too. They were excited to meet Nick, though ultimately that fell through. Of course, it was a different story when her friend and temporary roommate was her significant other. Nonetheless, she had faith that her parents would come around and care more about how they feel rather than what Nick looked like.

She'd wondered what effect a relationship would have on their proposed partnership with the ZPD. Her employee handbook said that if neither of them ended up as a superior to the other, there was no issue, not even with partners. The moment she'd read that lead to a wave of relief, though right now she felt that part didn't matter. She couldn't build up the courage to say anything to him, anyway.

Walking to her room, Judy stumbled. She remembered the last glass that she poured herself and Carley. It had been the last drops of a previously unopened bottle of cabernet sauvignon Carley's parents gifted her a while back. Her mouth felt dry as she climbed into bed; her fingers and toes tingled as her heart rate began to finally slow down. Sleep wouldn't come easy after such a conversation, though Judy had a neat trick to help her on restless nights.

She closed her eyes and thought only of Nick.

* * *

 **A/N: Holy smokes… it sure has been a hot second, hasn't it?**

 **It appears as my author's notes will forever begin this way… such is life! I hope y'all had a wonderful spring and summer. Classes for me begin in a few days and I'm super excited to start again!**

 **I really didn't plan on this chapter taking me so long, but I got stuck about 500 words in, then it all just hit me and here we are! I was stuck for a good two months, things got really busy for me, I kinda put this on the** _ **waaaay**_ **back-burner. I'll give you some good news though: I'm a good chunk into chapter 7, so hopefully, you won't have to wait another 5 months!**

 **And since I missed it (by a long shot), Happy Birthday Scar Tissue!**

 **So, apologies out of the way, what did y'all think? Judy has finally made it known that she has feelings for Nick. This is big, but it would seem she doesn't really know how she feels about it all. Next chapter, she is going to get to see Nick for the first time in about 5 months (just like you guys with this story!) and she might have something to talk about. Things are getting interesting, indeed.**

 **I won't be breaking my promise, this story will get finished, or I will die trying! Thanks again for reading and bearing with me as I slowly reveal this story! Don't forget to follow, favorite, and leave a review if you so choose! Take care, have a great day!**

 **-Ande (Not giving up anytime soon!)**


	7. What is Said and What Should Not

_Scar Tissue - Chapter 7 – What is Said and What Should Not_

* * *

 _Mid-Term Break_

Bars were a sight to behold, especially in a small town such as this one. The Academy was like a college, and Eastdeer was the town that it resided in. The bars were frequented by cadets on weekends while classes were in session, though tonight it held fewer patrons than weeks before. Many had decided to take their few weeks break from the rigors of the Academy and go home, others stayed behind and awaited the beginning of the harder part of their nine-month journey.

A short time into that journey, twenty-six of thirty cadets remained. Following the beginning of the second semester, only twenty-two would dive deeper into the depths of the ZPD's training, Nick being one of the hardy few that was there for the long haul. He sat on an old, torn barstool that had seated many before him. Looking around, he saw mostly regulars from the small town populated mostly by Cervidae. They stared at the bottoms of their glasses. Nick went back and forth from his empty glass to the door.

Quiet but audible music played ambiently, mostly rock n' roll from his childhood. A reminiscent smile appeared when one of his favorites of the era came on.

His midterm exams ended three days ago, the end of true chaos. While the atmosphere of the bar was chaotic in a softer sense, he felt no different than moments before any of his exams. The sound of the door opening caused his throat to tighten. His ears dropped and his heart raced as he swiveled to see who it was.

And he was calm once more.

"Carrots!" He jumped off the stool to meet her halfway. Despite the low light, her eyes still shone the moment hers met his. And as they came together for a long-awaited hug, he felt his heart begin to slowly speed back up. They separated. "I'm so glad you made it! Hopefully, the ride here wasn't too bad."

"Pretty good, actually," she offered a pleasing smile. "I managed to catch a quick nap on the way. How have you been?"

Nick chuckled. "Relieved. Midterms took a lot out of me. Waiting for results hasn't been too great, either."

"I get that," she giggled. "How long till you see them?"

"I'll be able to in," he checked his phone. "An hour ago," Nick sighed. "They were supposed to be up by now."

"Ah, that's professors for you," she stated. "If they aren't up soon, they'll be up by tomorrow. And besides, you've got nothing to worry about!" Judy gave a swift, though surprisingly gentle punch to Nick's arm. "I'm sure you did great!"

"Of course," Nick said unenthusiastically. "I mean, every single exam I took felt like it ended horribly and that overwhelming sense of dread that I failed every class hasn't let up since Wednesday, but yeah! I'm sure I did great."

"That's how everyone feels," she explained. "I didn't eat for almost an entire day while I waited for my midterm grades to come in. So, trust me, you're doing just fine!" Judy turned and looked toward the door for a second, then swiftly turned back. "Unrelated, we're not hanging out here, are we?"

Nick chuckled nervously. "No, not tonight. That _was_ my original plan, but I didn't think it would be so dead. Why not just head back to the dorms for now? There isn't much else to do."

Judy shrugged. "Why not. We've got plenty of catching up to do." She smiled and gave Nick a gentle shoulder check as she turned and led the way out of the bar. Moving down the quiet, yellow-lit street, Nick and Judy walked slowly side by side. She would glance his way, he would glance her way, she would giggle and look elsewhere, he would smile and shake his head.

"Did Kevin go back home?" Judy asked, breaking the jubilant silence.

"Yeah, his girlfriend picked him up a little while ago. I left for the bar before he was gone, but my room will be empty. I guess there isn't much to do in there, either. We do have a TV, though."

Once again, their world was dominated by silence. Nick could hear only the gentle whisper of the wind, the distant hum of car tires on old, worn pavement, and the buzz of the streetlights above. Nick saw Judy, eyes wandering in front of her, completely avoiding his gaze. She walked with ears erect, but head tilted slightly forward. She was happy to see him, no doubt, Nick thought. But her mind was elsewhere. He wanted to ask what was up, but for a night this wonderful, he decided against it.

Soon enough, that silence was broken as they came into the parking lot of the male dorms. A single car sat running by the door. Nick found it peculiar but kept walking toward the door until he heard a shout.

"Nick!" called a feminine voice from behind. He quickly turned around to where the sound came from. It was the running car. Judy stopped ahead of him a few steps and looked back.

Nick peered at who was calling his name. "Cynthia?" he questioned. The coyote in the car window nodded as Nick walked closer. "I thought you were picking Kevin up at eight," he said.

Cynthia rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I _was_. He fell asleep, so I've been waiting for him for nearly an hour. He's getting packed up now."

Nick chuckled. "Alright, good seeing you again. Don't hit Kevin too hard for me."

"No promises," she smiled back.

Nick brought his attention back to Judy, who looked at him with her head cocked to the side. "Who was that?"

"That's Kevin's girlfriend, Cynthia."

"Doesn't sound like she's very happy."

"No, she is _not_ ," Nick said, trying not to smile no matter how badly he felt for Kevin. "I guess you'll be meeting Kevin tonight, after all."

The two walked into the dorm, Nick opening the door with his identification card and allowing Judy in first. Nick took the lead and brought Judy down to the very end of the hall to room 101. Judy as Nick was about to reach for the door, the handle moved, and the door flew open with a blur of a fishing cat coming out of the room. Nick raised an eyebrow as Kevin stopped himself and backed up.

"Back from the bar so soon?" he asked.

Nick shrugged as he scooted a little closer to Judy. "It was dead. Also, Kevin, this is Judy," Nick gestured with his paw.

Kevin's eyes darted to Judy, and with a toothy smile, he offered his paw. "Pleased to finally meet ya, Judy."

She took his paw and shook it firmly. "You as well, Kevin."

The fishing cat looked from Judy to Nick a few times before smiling and catching Nick's gaze. "I should probably get going. My ass is in a _lot_ of trouble." Nick chuckled as Kevin took off down the hall with his bag. As he disappeared, Nick heard one last shout from his friend. "See you in a few weeks!"

Nick turned from the open door to Judy. "So that was Kevin," he said nonchalantly.

She chuckled. "So it was. He seems like a great guy, though I guess I was expecting his girlfriend to be… you know…"

Nick smiled. "Like him?"

"Y-yeah. That doesn't cause any problems for them, does it?" Judy asked.

"I wouldn't know," Nick said, walking into his room. "He doesn't bring that part of his relationship up. They've been together for almost four years, though." Nick turned around and plopped himself on the futon below his lofted bed.

Judy smiled at Nick. "That's great to hear."

"So, what do you think?" Nick said clapping his paws together. "Bring back old memories?" He watched as Judy took in the sights of his room, looking like a typical college dorm room. Lofted beds, old futon, a single TV on a stand that had seen better days, basically no closet space, and certainly no privacy.

She took in a deep breath and sighed, a smile curling her lips. "I do miss my days, here. No matter how uncomfortable that sorry excuse for a mattress was. Every terrible detail..."

"Well, why don't we add a new memory by watching some TV and just relaxing," Nick said, patting the seat next to him. "The futon is more comfortable than it looks."

Judy looked at Nick and smiled mischievously. "Or…" she said, running up to Nick and grabbing his arm. She pulled with impressive strength, getting Nick to his feet, his head narrowly missing the bed frame lofted above him. "Follow me, I just thought of something!"

She tried to run while still holding his arm, but Nick refused to move. "What exactly are we doing?" he asked with a smile.

"Do you trust me?"

"What?"

"I said, 'do you trust me'!" she repeated.

Nick paused. "Yeah, I trust you. Where are you taking me?"

"No questions! C'mon!"

Nick watched Judy bolt out of the room and down the hall. He followed behind, confused, but smiling all the way. "Judy!" he shouted. "Where are you going?"

"Just follow me!" she yelled back. Nick heard her laughing ahead of him, and his smile grew wider. _Where the hell are you taking me, Fluff?_ He thought.

They exited the building, and Judy led Nick down the street until they were at the edge of town. She eventually took a turn and hopped over a fence at the base of a large hill. Nick stopped before the fence and shouted to her once more. "We can't go back there! That's private property!"

Judy stopped and turned around. "This isn't the first time I've done this, Nick. Just follow me, I know what I'm doing!"

Judy continued running up the hill, so Nick shook his head and climbed over the fence. He pushed himself up the hill, being careful not to trip on anything during his ascent. He stopped as Judy disappeared into thick foliage but soon found himself being drawn toward wherever she was heading. He walked through the trees and bushes, shielding his eyes from low-hanging branches.

Nick came out of the trees to see Judy standing in a small clearing at the top of the hill. She waved him up, and he walked to her side.

From up here, he understood why she was so eager to take him. The view was breathtaking. Down below, the glow of Eastdeer shone like gold. The sky exploded with an abundance of stars, and the surrounding hills contrasted the night with absolute darkness. High above, the moon, only a sliver, gave the faintest light.

"I would come here when I couldn't sleep," she began. "Sometimes I would stay here all night. I'd bring my books and study, or I'd just look at the stars."

Judy sat down, facing the light of Eastdeer. Nick kept his eyes on the sky above as he walked directly behind Judy. He, too, sat down, leaning back until he felt his back press against Judy. She resisted his force until they were both leaning against the other.

"You don't mind, do you, Carrots?"

"Not at all," she responded quietly.

His lips gradually curled up into a soft smile as he continued to admire the beauty of the night. Occasionally he tried to get a glance at what Judy was doing. Out of his periphery, he could see the glow of her phone and the dull tapping of fingers on the screen.

"You're really warm," Judy whispered, her wispy voice cutting through the silence of the night like a hot knife through butter.

Nick brought his head around. "Are you cold?"

"No," Judy said, turning to meet his gaze. "You're just really warm," she finished with a smile. Judy turned back to admire the town below. Nick leaned forward, relieving her body of the need to support him, and he swiveled to face the same direction as she was.

"I don't know how you could have ever studied up here. The view is incredible," he said, turning to meet her eyes.

Her smile sparkled. "It sure is a great view."

Nick gave the smallest nod in return. For a moment this wonderful, there wasn't anything to say. He found it best to just leave it unspoken and enjoy the night and the company he had. He looked back to the town and the surrounding hills and the stars. For an all-too-rare moment in his life, Nick felt the weight of everything lift from his shoulders.

"Nick, can I ask you something?"

Perhaps he'd spoken too soon.

He turned back to Judy, face mildly concerned. "What's up?"

Judy fiddled with her thumbs, keeping her head and eyes down, avoiding any and all eye-contact from him. "I, uh… I've been meaning to talk to you about something for a while, now."

Nick gulped as the next two seconds of silence felt like an eternity for him.

"I, uh… love…"

 _What the hell is she about to say? Say sunsets! Or babies! Or… cotton candy! Just don't say…_

"…that you're taking this step in your life, I really do," she finished.

 _That was… unexpected…_ he thought.

"But I just want to make sure that you're enjoying it all," Judy finished.

Nick raised an eyebrow. "Am I enjoying the Academy?" He put on his trademark smirk. "Yes, yes I am. I'm having a great time, don't you worry."

"Nick," Judy whispered, bringing her paw to his forearm.

Nick froze at her touch, her gaze nearly causing his heart to stop. She looked at him with such concern his mind began to cloud.

"I know you don't like to… show how you truly feel," she continued. "But for the last five months, I've been terrified that I forced you into this when you don't want to be here. I need you to be completely honest with me… are you _really_ happy with all of this?"

Nick was finally able to think after a moment of quiet hesitation. He looked at where her paw still rested gently on his arm. As if regaining feeling in his entire body, Nick shuddered and inched away before clearing his throat. "I don't blame you," he spoke softly. "I questioned whether or not this was for me even after I got here. But I've thought about it long and hard, and there isn't anything I'd rather be doing. I've done more to be proud of in these five months than most of my life combined." Nick smiled as he turned to the sky. "And it's all thanks to you, Fluff." The fox turned his attention back to Judy, who looked away quickly as she smiled wide and failed to hide her blush.

"Niiiick… stop it," she giggled.

"Oh, come on! You're going to act like you had _nothing_ to do with this? You had _everything_ to do with it! I literally would not be here if it weren't for you."

"Yeah… I guess, but still, you're making me blush."

"I can tell. Your face looks like a tomato." Just then, Nick saw Judy's embarrassment turn into mild anger. In the blink of an eye, Judy's fist found Nick's arm, and she didn't hold back.

"Ow! Ok, that was too far!" he admitted. Turning toward Judy, Nick opened his arms and motioned for her to come in for a hug. "C'mon, Carrots. I won't make fun of you anymore. The fox with a sore arm is sorry."

Judy looked at Nick, smiled and shook her head as the two came together for a hug. "The bunny with a fist forgives you," she joked. Silence fell between the two of them, and their embrace continued. Nick did everything to hold onto her tightly as if he would die if he let go.

"You're shivering, Judy," he whispered.

"No, I'm not," she muttered back.

"Yes, you are. You're freezing, aren't you?"

Judy squeezed harder. "Not anymore. As I said, you're really warm."

Nick felt his heart begin to race, forcing him to let go and stare at the ground. Judy stared at him, eyes unblinking and head cocked to the side. He looked back up, eyes avoiding the rabbit altogether. "It's uh… getting late. We should probably head back." Nick stood up and began walking down the hill and into the trees. For a short while, Judy simply sat on the ground and watched as he walked away.

As Nick broke through the tree line once more, Judy came from behind. "Nick, wait up!" she said. "What's going on? You just… bolted like that. Everything alright?"

Nick kept his muzzle straight forward. "You're getting cold, it's pretty late. It's best that we just call it a night, y'know?" he mumbled.

"No, I don't," Judy giggled nervously. "Seriously, are you doing alright?"

Nick stopped and rubbed his eyes. "No, I'm not alright. It's been… a stressful week and I'm, quite frankly, exhausted. Honestly, I just need to go to bed and maybe get some sleep for once," he finished with a chuckle.

"Nick, that's all you had to say," Judy smiled.

He laughed. "I'm sorry about all that. My mind hasn't been taken off mid-terms since my last test and it's driving me crazy."

"Well, how about this," Judy began. "Let's get you back to your place and I'll leave you to get some well-deserved rest, ok?"

Nick smiled and nodded. "Sounds great."

For the rest of the walk back to the dorms, the two were silent. Only once did either of them break it when Nick received a call from Kevin, which he promptly let go to voicemail. As they approached the men's dorms, Nick saw a text from Kevin.

"Shit," he whispered as he began frantically typing on his phone.

Judy looked on with much concern. "What's going on?"

Nick looked at her with a relieved, yet terrified look in his eyes. "Grades are in."

Judy nearly started bouncing off the walls with excitement as she waited for him to pull up the results from his first semester. Soon, Nick's fingers ground to a halt as he stared at his class rank.

"Well, what does it say?" she asked impatiently.

Nick looked up with a smile. "Fifth."

Judy's eyes lit up. "Fifth? Really?"

Nick started laughing. "Fifth out of twenty-two! I didn't suck!"

"I told you!" Judy exclaimed. "You had nothing to worry about!"

Nick shrugged his shoulders. "I guess you were right. But it isn't good enough. I've got four mammals to be better than next semester."

"That's the right attitude," she said with a wink. "Hey, it was great to get to see you again. I'm gonna head off to my hotel, I'll talk to you soon, ok?"

Nick's jovial expression quickly faded into mild concern. "Hey, I'll walk with you." He was too late, however. Judy had already begun walking away, backward.

"My parents have been trying to get ahold of me since I got here, they're going to call any second," she explained, though it didn't sate Nick's desire to talk with Judy just a little more. "Get some rest, Slick. You deserve it."

And just like that, Judy turned around and began walking away. Nick's ears flattened against the back of his head as he, too, turned around and walked toward the dorm entrance. Just as he unlocked the door, he heard a shout from behind.

"Nick! Wait!"

His ears stood on end as he turned toward Judy's voice. She was already most of the way to him. "Nick, I forgot, I wanted to ask you one other thing."

Once again, time seemed to slow down as he pondered what she was about to say. A million thoughts ran through his head, so quickly he couldn't make any sense of his mind anymore. All he could do was focus on who was right in front of him.

"I uh… wanted to ask you… um…"

Nick raised an eyebrow.

"You know what," Judy finally spat out. "I can't remember. Anyway, it's not important. Goodnight!"

For the second time, Nick watched Judy walk away from him, although this instance was more of a quick jog. Before he knew it, she disappeared around the corner. Nick exhaled and mumbled an 'ok' to himself as he walked into the dorm, completely confused.

As he went down the hall, he pulled out his phone and dialed a number. Soon after, the mammal on the other end answered.

" _Nick! Tell me you did well!"_ shouted Kevin from the other end of the line.

"Not what I was calling you about. Dude, something _really_ weird happened tonight…"

* * *

Judy stopped as soon as she got around the corner of the building and was sure Nick couldn't see her. She frantically pulled out her phone and swiftly dialed a number. The phone rang and rang, Judy losing more of her patience the closer it got to voicemail. On the last ring, the mammal finally picked up the phone.

" _Judy? What's up?"_

"Carley… I just got done seeing Nick… It's not going to happen. I-I couldn't do it."

* * *

 **A/N: Super glad to have this chapter out! Mostly because it didn't take me forever to do it, but y'know... you win some...**

 **Anyway, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Nick's misinterpretation of what Judy was about to say at the hilltop might be a clue to his feelings, I'll say that much. I'm really excited to share the next few chapters. Things are getting _very_ interesting, indeed.**

 **While it is good news that I can't wait to get the ball rolling on the next few chapters, there is a bit of bad news. My semester is picking up a lot of speed and my talents and resources are needed elsewhere (School entirely... it's always school...). This means you might not hear from me for a while, but honestly, I can't say for sure. The only thing I can say for sure is that I WILL NOT STOP UNTIL THIS STORY IS FINISHED! You guys should expect at least one more update before 2020.**

 **With that out of the way, please leave a review if you so choose, and don't forget to follow and favorite if you like the story!**

 **And as always take care, have a great day!**

 **-Ande**


	8. Not Right

_Scar Tissue – Chapter 8 – Not Right_

* * *

Judy stopped as soon as she got around the corner of the building and was sure Nick couldn't see her. She frantically pulled out her phone and dialed a number. The phone rang and rang, Judy losing more of her patience the closer it got to voicemail. On the last ring, the mammal finally picked up.

"Judy? What's up?"

"Carley… I just got done seeing Nick… It's not going to happen. I-I couldn't do it." Judy leaned up against a cold brick wall, phone to her ear. Her heart began to pound, her legs quivered, and her eyes began to tear up as she slid down until she sat on the sidewalk.

"I… I couldn't say anything," she sniffed, hardly keeping herself from letting go of all her emotions all at once. From the other end, Judy heard nothing but silence for what felt like an eternity. Her mind raced through the events of the night, how she had tried and failed to open up to Nick over and over. She came upon her memory of being at the hilltop and the moment Nick let go and backed away; the moment she knew his true feelings.

The cougar sighed from the other end. "What happened, Judy? Take your time," she questioned.

Judy took a deep breath to calm her nerves, but she was still hyperventilating, his heart pounding out of her chest. Her thoughts clouded with images of Nick's face after he let go. He looked terrified like he'd witnessed a horrific accident.

"Judy? You still there?"

She took one last deep breath and focused on her friend. "Yeah, sorry," she said, wiping her eyes. Judy heard Carley sigh and chuckle from the other end.

"Girl, you have no idea how much I want to give you a hug right now."

Judy couldn't help but smile.

"You've had a rough night, are you sure this is something you want to talk about right now? We don't have to if you don't want to."

"You know…" she hesitated. "I think I just need time to process this. I'll call you in the morning."

"Ok," Carley said softly. "Everything's going to be alright. Get some sleep, ok?"

"I will. Talk to you later."

Judy lowered the phone from her ear and stared out into the empty street. The moment she was done with her short conversation with Carley, her mind went right back to the events of the evening. No matter how hard she tried to think about the enjoyment of seeing Nick again, the moment of seeing his face after backing away from her continued to push its way to the surface.

Again, she felt tears start to well up in her eyes. As they began to roll down her cheeks, she threw her face into her hands and let everything go.

As she cried, she briefly looked up to find that she was all alone; not a soul in sight. In her looking, she turned her head to where she'd just been. For a fleeting moment, she wanted to get up, wipe her eyes and march back to Nick and tell him everything. That moment was gone as fast as it came, because now, whenever she thought of Nick, it wasn't of the time she spent living with him. It wasn't him during the Nighthowler case. It wasn't even him from just an hour before. It was the Nick she saw at the top of the hill.

What had he felt? Why did he back away so suddenly? These questions continued to come back to her, answers never finding their way to her. There was only one possible explanation for Judy, and it was exactly what she feared; Nick has caught on, and he doesn't like it.

She thought she could handle that kind of rejection. Time and time again she told herself that no matter how Nick felt, she would accept it. But now those feelings were as real as they got, and they hurt. Now that she had even a hint as to how Nick felt about her, she couldn't possibly handle the pain of never getting to be with him. She shook in terror every time she thought about it.

Despite everything, she still had to get up. Even when all hope felt lost, she still had to stand tall and remember what Carley said. Everything was going to be alright.

As she pushed herself off the pavement, she wiped away the last of her tears. From deep within, she felt the confidence to tell Nick her feelings and knew it had been there all along. Tonight, simply wasn't the right time. She knew she could do it; she just didn't know when.

But like all things, time would tell.

* * *

 _Outside Nick's Dorm_

For the second time, Nick watched Judy walk away from him, although this instance was more of a quick jog. Before he knew it, she disappeared around the corner. Nick exhaled and mumbled an 'ok' to himself as he walked into the dorm, completely confused.

As he went down the hall, he pulled out his phone and dialed a number. Soon after, the mammal on the other end answered.

"Nick! Tell me you did well!" shouted Kevin from the other end of the line.

"Not what I was calling you about.," Nick said, hushed and quick. "Dude, something _really_ weird happened tonight…"

"What do you mean _weird_?"

"Do you know about a hill just outside of town? It's on private property, at the top you can see the entire valley."

"Never heard of a place like that. I think I might know what hill you're talking about, though. Is it south of town?"

"Yeah."

"What's so special about it?"

"Well, Judy ended up dragging me there. Without getting into the details too much, we ended up in a hug that lasted for a long time. I kinda freaked out and threw her off me."

Kevin hesitated before responding. "Why did you do that?"

"I… I don't know," he stammered. " It just didn't feel right, y'know? She's my best friend."

"Heeeey!"

"Oh, you know what I mean!" Nick chuckled. "This is serious, dude! What should I do? What if she's mad at me?"

"I don't know. I'm not gonna pretend like I have some sort of life-saving advice for you. If you think she might be mad about it, talk to her. She's a rational mammal, explain your side of it and she'll understand."

"You think that's going to work?" Nick asked.

"It's Judy. I know things will work out in the end."

Nick took a moment to think and realized that Kevin was right. Though she could be a bit rash, Judy was a completely normal person who knew that some mammals make mistakes. "Hey, uh… how'd you do… grades wise?" Nick waited, though he could practically hear Kevin's smile through the call.

"Class rank fourth. How'd you do?"

"Fifth. I'm coming for you. I'll get that top spot; don't you forget it." Nick jabbed.

"We'll see about that. I'll see you in a couple of weeks."

"Later, buddy."

Nick ended the call and let out a sigh of relief. He walked down to the end of the hallway and opened his room. Without Judy or Kevin, the small space felt that much smaller. He shivered as the walls seemed to close in on him just a little. He checked the thermostat, which said the room was at a comfortable seventy degrees. _I guess it makes the room feel colder, too_. He thought.

Nick checked the time on his phone. While he'd made up the excuse of it being late to get out of that awkward situation, it really was getting late. It was strange how fast time went when he was enjoying Judy's company. Deciding there was nothing left he wanted to do, Nick stripped down to his boxers and climbed into his lofted bed.

As he laid down, his mind wandered back to just an hour earlier. His eyes only caught a glimpse of Judy after his little freak-out. She looked hurt, not unlike right after the press conference. Back then, Nick had tried to hurt her. His words were chosen specifically to inflict pain where it would hurt most. After his time of reflection afterward, he regretted doing what he did. She didn't deserve to be treated that way, so when she came back and asked for his help, he knew that he needed to do something to make up. He helped her get back on her feet and vowed to himself that he would never hurt her again.

It seemed that he forgot all about that promise.

His actions tonight weren't caused by his mental exhaustion. They were deliberate, and Nick was afraid of what he was thinking and feeling. _This isn't like me… I don't let people see that they get to me…_ he thought. That had been true of him for years, but ever since Judy came into his life that part of Nick seemed to step aside. It made way for a version of Nick that hadn't been seen in a long time. He opened up more, he cared more, and most importantly, he finally started to trust people again. For so long, Nick didn't trust anyone except those he'd known most of his life. It was Judy that made him realize that trusting people wasn't so bad.

He laughed silently. The version of himself from a mere six months ago would never have trusted anyone. That rabbit changed him, that was for sure.

And as Nick continued to think of Judy, his eyes grew heavy and soon sleep enveloped him.

* * *

 _Friday – Graduation Day_

"Damnit."

Next to Nick, a playfully frustrated fishing cat smiled and shook his head.

"What are you on about, now?" the fox asked, letting a smile creep onto his face.

"You said you were gunning for the top spot. I should have worked harder."

"Hey now, Mr. Salutatorian… second place ain't bad." Nick gave his friend a pat on the shoulder. "Where'd you get assigned again?"

"Precinct Three, Rainforest District. I was hoping for it, though. You must be excited about going to the coveted Precinct One, I assume?"

Nick smiled. "My first day can't get here fast enough."

It was a beautiful day outside. The birds were singing. The flowers were blooming. On days like these, the mammals of Zootopia were taking advantage of the wonderful weather. The graduation ceremony ended a while ago, so the crowd dwindled to the families of a few of the graduates. Nick and Kevin were simply enjoying the day, waiting for even better things to come.

"You gonna miss it?" Kevin asked.

"The Academy? Probably not. I put in enough work; I just hope it'll all be worth it."

"Oh, it will be. And besides, you're pretty much guaranteed to be working with Judy, aren't you? What more could you want?"

"Well, I'll be glad to finally have you away from me," Nick joked.

Kevin wasted no time throwing a playful punch. "You're gonna miss me, don't deny it."

"Nope, I hate your guts and I'm glad I don't have to work with you."

"You're gonna be up every night wishing I was your partner."

Nick shook his head. "Nope, you suck."

"No, you."

"No, you."

"I'd say you both suck."

Nick and Kevin simultaneously turned around to see where the sound came from. Cynthia stood with her arms crossed and a slightly embarrassed smile. Next to her was Judy who couldn't stop giggling.

"You two _are_ just cute together. When's the wedding, huh?" Judy jabbed.

The fox and the cat gave each other surprising glances. "You were right, she's learning from you," Kevin said.

"I know, it's like there's two of me."

Kevin jokingly cringed at the notion of two Nicks. "No one needs that."

"Agreed," Judy said.

"No arguments here," Cynthia added.

"I get it," Nick said, mildly annoyed. He clapped his paws together to change the subject. "Any plans for the weekend?"

"You know, we're actually going on a last-minute camping trip." Said the coyote, who eyed Kevin as he walked over to her. "I think my kitten deserves a relaxing weekend for once."

Kevin shot her an embarrassed glare. "I told you not to call me that." He leaned in and whispered, " _especially not in front of Nick…"_

The fox offered a light shoulder pat. "Oh, buddy… The damage is already done."

"What about you two?" Cynthia asked. "You guys got anything going on this weekend?"

"I've got a date with my TV," Nick said.

"And I'll probably put in some overtime," Judy added.

"Alright," Kevin said. "Well, we've gotta get packed and on the road. Take care, you two."

Nick and Judy said their farewells and waved off their friends. As Kevin and Cynthia walked away, the fox and the rabbit took to walking to the stage where Judy hopped up and took a seat, making her just over eye-level to Nick.

"So, when did you and Cynthia start getting all buddy-buddy?" Nick asked.

"I wouldn't call us buddies." Judy corrected. "We talked quite a bit before the ceremony. We're acquaintances at most."

"Well, I think it's great. I want you to like Kevin, and those two are basically one blob of a couple, so that means you have to like Cynthia, too."

"They're a really great pair. Kevin's kind of a goofball."

"So, now you understand why we make such good friends," Nick added with a smirk.

"No kidding. Although he has someone to keep his goofball-ness in check. I have tried and failed at that with you."

"I can't be tamed, Carrots."

"Says the con-fox in the police uniform," Judy fired back. "I'd say I did a pretty good job with that part."

Nick put away his care-free smirk and replaced it for a proper smile. "You nailed it."

"I did, didn't I?"

Nick leaned against the stage and surveyed the world in front of him. It was a truly beautiful day, and while he felt he deserved a weekend camping out on his couch, he wanted nothing more than to have Judy there with him. However, there was one problem.

Ever since Judy came to visit him, the two hadn't kept in contact nearly as much. Today had been the most they'd said to each other since that night. Her routine weekly calls went away, and throughout Nick's spring semester, Judy gave him a call only a couple of times a month.

Not only that, but their calls just seemed to be less interesting. It was as if they just ran out of things to talk about. Every time they spoke on the phone, Nick wanted to bring up that night and apologize, but in the end, he never did. The way he saw it, this wasn't over-the-phone stuff, it was face-to-face stuff. Even now that he had the opportunity, Nick started to feel nervous about bringing it up.

 _C'mon Nick… just get the conversation started and it will come naturally…_ he thought. Now was the time for him to say something if he was going to. They were alone, and better yet, both of them were in a _really_ good mood.

He cleared his throat. "Carrots, can I say something… about the last time we saw each other?"

Judy looked down at him. "Sure… what's on your mind?"

Nick kept his eyes at the ground. "I never _really_ apologized for what I did at the hilltop… I didn't mean to do anything like that…"

"Nick, you don't have to apologize," Judy said. She jumped down and tried to look Nick in the eyes. "I'm not mad at you if that's what you're thinking. Honestly, I was just curious as to why it happened."

"I don't know…" Nick rubbed the back of his neck. "I've just never been one for physical contact… from anyone. I've avoided it since I was a little kid."

"Yeah, I've noticed," Judy said.

Nick looked at her with surprise. "Y-you have?"

"Well, yeah… I feel like by touching someone, even if only on their arm or shoulder, I understand their feelings a bit better. It's how bunnies can connect with one another. You always move away from it, but I didn't realize it made you uncomfortable."

"Don't worry, you didn't know. I don't really talk about that, like… at all."

"And that's fine," she said. "I just wish you'd be more comfortable around me. When I do that it comes from the most caring parts of me. You're my best friend and I want to be there for you, no matter what. I know I've been pretty bad at that lately. I'm only doing my best." She offered a caring smile.

Nick stared blankly at Judy for some time, but eventually, a smile curled his lips. "Thanks, Carrots. It's good to know I've got someone to count on."

"Of course," she responded. "You know… there was one other thing I've been meaning to talk to you about for quite a while. I figured now might be the best time."

"What's up?"

"Well, it's just… I've uh…"

 _Why is she getting so nervous?_ Nick thought. _I don't think I've ever heard her stammer like this…_

"Judy, you alright? You're not having a stroke, are you?" he joked.

"Oh my God, you ruined it!" she exclaimed. "Ok, let me gather my thoughts…" Judy took a deep breath while Nick waited patiently to hear what she had to say. "Nick, you're really something special."

"Gosh, Carrots, really laying it on thick, aren't you?"

She swatted at his arm. "Oh, just let me finish!"

"Alright, continue."

"You've been such a great friend over this last year, and it's helped me realize… I'm starting to like you a bit more…"

"What?" The realization hit him like a truck.

"…I think I might be falling in love with you." Judy looked up at him, eyes pleading for a response from him, but he couldn't even move. His thoughts were racing, his heart was pounding. The already warm day started to get a lot warmer. The open space of the park closed in on him and suddenly it was just him and Judy.

He backed up one step. "…N-no…" he mumbled. He started trying to look anywhere but at her. His efforts remained in vain, though. Her eyes kept his gaze coming back.

"Nick?" Judy said, her voice laced with concern. "Oh, no…" she whispered under her breath. "I'm sorry, Nick. I shouldn't have said that here, should I?"

Nick broke from his freak-out. "No! You shouldn't have, like… at all! Judy, this cannot happen between us! On Monday, I'm going to be your partner. I-I've gotta get out of here. I can't take this right now." Nick started to walk away, but Judy grabbed him by the arm and held on tight.

"Nick! Don't leave! I have been holding these feelings back for what feels like forever. I've done my research; we could be something more _and_ be partners. There's no rule against it."

Nick fully turned around. "You think _that's_ what's freaking me out? The rules?"

"Well, what else could it be? Why don't you want to give this a chance?"

"You don't need to know." Once again, Nick tried to turn around and leave, but Judy wouldn't let him without an answer to her question, it seemed.

"I don't think so, Slick! What did we _just_ talk about, huh? I'm here for you, no matter what. Whatever has you afraid… I can help with it. Just let me in."

Nick turned around one last time, eyes beginning to tear up. He looked her dead in the eyes as a tear rolled down his cheek. "I warned you..." Judy immediately let go of his arm and backed away. "I told you not to do it."

"Nick, I–"

"I said you'd get hurt." He shrugged his shoulders as he backed away. "I was right, wasn't I?"

Now Judy stood alone watching her best friend walk away after she finally had the courage to voice her feelings. Yeah, he was right. Judy felt nothing but pain, but this wasn't all her pain. She felt it for Nick. Those brief moments she held him back from walking away told tales. She had to stop him.

But at the same time, she knew she had to let him go, for now. He needed to cool off, think about it, then he'd be ready to have that conversation.

He just needed time.

* * *

 _Sunday_

"I'm _freaking_ out!"

Judy was freaking out.

The last day and a half she spent checking her phone constantly. She'd called Nick more than she could remember. Eventually, they started going straight to voice-mail, so she gave up on it. Yesterday, she went over to Nick's apartment to talk to him, but he wouldn't answer the door. She broke out the key he gave her and got in, but she found the place deserted. He wasn't home, and there was no indication of where he went.

That was the moment she _really_ started to get worried. Nick was supposed to start working on Monday, but he was nowhere to be found. The rabbit could only blame herself. She'd scared him off. That was the only explanation.

"Judy, you need to stop freaking out." Carley watched as the bunny paced back and forth, phone in paw, eyes taking a glance at it every few seconds as if the next moment would be when Nick finally called her back.

"How could I possibly stop freaking out?" she exclaimed. "Nick just disappeared! He's not answering his phone. He's not at home. No one knows where he is!"

"Have you talked to Finnick?" the cougar suggested.

"Even he doesn't know! He hasn't seen Nick in months!"

Carley held out her paws to stop Judy. "Please calm down, Judy. Everything is going to be fine."

"No, it's not!" she shouted. "I finally confessed to Nick that I had feelings for him, he freaks out, now he's nowhere to be found. He skipped town, Carley! There's no other explanation!"

"Judy! You're overthinking this!" Carley said, raising her voice. "You did not scare him off. Maybe Nick just went somewhere to cool off and think. I know he'll be back."

Judy took a moment to rest her mind, and she started to see things Carley's way. She sat down for the first time in hours. "Why did I have to say anything?" she said, looking up at her friend, eyes growing mistier by the second.

Carley felt for the poor rabbit. She'd been Judy's only escape for those feelings for months. No one else knew about it, and she could tell that Judy was taking things hard. "C'mere, Jude." Judy sank into Carley's hug without any more prompting. "I know it might not seem like it right now, but Nick cares about you a lot. Even if you two don't end up together, wouldn't it be nice to still have him as a friend?"

"Yeah, right… like he'll still be my friend after this." Judy pouted.

"Oh, don't say that. He still likes you. I know it."

"How could you possibly know that?"

"I don't know for sure, but I have faith in it. I've been rooting for you two, and dammit, I'm not gonna stop!" Carley cheered. "You two are inseparable. There's no way the world can function without you two being at least friends. Things will work out, I promise."

Judy buried her face in her paws. "At least one of us thinks so," she mumbled. "I mean, am I an idiot?" she asked, pulling her face from her paws. "Did I expect that conversation to go any other way?"

"The conversation isn't over," Carley said. "You two need to actually talk about it, and that involves _both_ of you taking a step back and calming down first."

"Ok, yes… I need to calm down. I think I might take a nap."

"That's good. I'll leave you to it. Don't hesitate to call me if you feel the need."

"Thanks."

Carley left Judy with a hopeful smile, and almost immediately the rabbit's eyes started to get heavy. She hadn't had much sleep since Nick walked away from her, and it was finally catching up. She'd spent most of that time worrying about where he was and what he was thinking.

She rested her head on the couch and let her eyes close. Almost immediately, she opened them again when she heard her phone ring. Judy looked around her apartment, slightly confused. She saw the clock; she'd been asleep for almost two hours. Her phone still rang, and she started to wake up enough to realize she needed to answer. She grabbed it and answered.

"Hello?" Judy's ears drooped and her eyes grew to the size of dinner plates. "Y-yeah. I'll be there as fast as I can."

She pocketed her phone and ran out the door without any hesitation. When she came outside, she started in the direction of the subway. _Forget it, I'm running._ She thought. She didn't have time to wait for the train.

She ran as fast as she could, and pretty soon Judy was taken back to nearly a year ago, the day that she and Nick solved the Nighthowler case. The scenery of her first walk to Nick's apartment, the way he carried her up the stairs fire-mammal style; it all started to come back. As she ran to that building, she smiled and went inside, flying up the stairs and down the hall to the door she once called her home.

As she approached it, the door opened as if it sensed her presence. Nick stood still and silent for some time.

"Hi," he said quietly.

She responded equally quiet. "Hi."

"Come on in," he said, stepping aside to let her in.

She walked in and admired the inside of his apartment. "I see this place hasn't changed since I moved out."

"Yeah," Nick called from the entryway. "Your bedroom is still the same. Carrot-print sheets and all." Nick came into the living room. "Of course, it helps that I've only been back for a few days…" he looked around the room and scratched the back of his head. "So… mind if I start?"

"Go ahead."

"…Look… I'm really sorry about the last couple of days. I freaked out… a lot."

"That's an understatement."

"Right. I didn't want to hurt your feelings or anything. You just have to understand–"

"Understand what, Nick? That I can't trust you to tell me the truth? The one person I want to talk to the most barely even looks me in the eye anymore, much less returns my calls! All I wanted to do was open up and let you know how important you are to me."

"Judy, please. Can you just let me explain myself?"

"Fine! Go ahead! What more could you possibly have to say?"

"Look, you've done so much for me; I can't thank you enough. But a relationship? I don't know if I can handle something like that right now… and honestly, it might never happen."

"Why never?"

Nick took a deep breath and sat on the couch, patting the seat next to him. Judy joined him on the couch and watched him carefully. "There's something that I've never really told anyone…. But you mean enough to me that you deserve to know this." He took a moment and rubbed his head nervously.

She could see him shaking, so Judy put her paw on his shoulder, and this time, Nick didn't flinch and move away. He turned to her and smiled. "It's ok, Nick. You can tell me."

His smile fell away. "Do you know what the opposite of a love story is, Carrots?"

She kept her voice quiet. "I guess that means you _do_?"

Nick shrugged. "Well, you could say that. I'm going to tell you a story. It began years ago; I was twenty-four and I'd been dating Janice Clawsen for about two years."

Judy visibly reacted and squeezed his shoulder a little tighter. Without a conscious effort, she felt her open paw slowly intertwine with Nick's.

"This is the story of my wedding day."

* * *

 **A/N: Be honest, how many of you actually saw this coming?**

 **So Nick's been hiding a past relationship from Judy, and from the way Nick talks about it, it seems like things didn't end too well. Next chapter you will get to see a flashback about a younger Nick, and the answer to the burning question: Where did Nick disappear to after Judy finally confessed her feelings?**

 **I'm curious what you thought of Judy's confession scene. I hope I didn't lay the drama on too thick. I wanted it to feel as real as possible, but it's really hard to get some of that stuff right.**

 **Big plot stuff and now we're in the nitty-gritty of the story. I have** _ **SO**_ **much inspiration for it! I hope the next chapter won't take too long to get out; I should be able to work pretty quickly.**

 **Go ahead and leave a review, follow, and favorite if you haven't already. Take care, have a great day!**

 **-Ande**


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